Reports from TEMPO
MANILA, Philippines – Facing a livewire German club playing in the second division of Bundesliga, the Philippine football team got the neat lesson it yearned for, bowing to FC Ingolstadt, 4-0, in its third friendly match in Bavaria, Germany early Thursday morning (Manila time).
The Azkals, who missed some key players, were down 0-3 at halftime of the rain-hit game and eventually fell to their first defeat in three test matches.
German midfielder Andreas Buchner opened the scoring for Ingolstadt in the 14th minute before Fabian Gerber made it 2-0 with a header.
Then a heavy downpour halted the game for about 10 minutes, according to Ingolstadt website, before Azkals goal keeper Neil Etheridge, playing under a difficult soil condition, made a big mistake when he steered a pass into the top of his own net to trail 0-3.
Another goal in the 83rd sealed the victory for Ingolstadt, which ranked 14th out of 18 clubs in the Bundesliga second division last season.
In the Bundesliga, Germany’s federal football league, the top divisions are the first four levels. Ingolstadt, where Azkal Manuel Ott also plays although in the second team, is laden by Brazilian booters in midfielder Stefan Leitl and striker Caiuby.
The Azkals, using the test matches as part of their build up for their important June 29 meeting against Sri Lanka in the FIFA World Cup qualifying tournament, played without Filipino-German striker Stephan Schrock, Fil-Icelandic leftback Ray Jonsson and Fil-Dutch attacking midfielder Paul Mulders, who was just reunited with his team after a bereavement leave and Dennis Caraga who was reportedly hit with a high fever.
Despite the loss, Azkals skipper Aly Borromeo remains optimistic.
“We can only gain from the loss and look to get better,” he said.
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