FRANCIS SANTIAGO - TEMPO
MANILA, Philippines – The German coach of the Philippine football team admits he’s not happy, but is not about to cry over spilled milk.
“I’m not the happiest man in the world but I’m not too disappointed. We take the result as it is and prepare for the match on Sunday,” Hans Michael Weiss told interaction. com, a television website.
The Azkals barely escaped with a 1-all draw with Sri Lanka Wednesday in the first leg of their opening World Cup qualifying match in Colombo.
Weiss said the Azkals could have won the match had they got off to a bright start.
“I think we were better and superior. And if we scored the first or the second goal, the game would have been over,” the German coach said.
The Filipinos are set to return Thursday night, giving them two days to prepare for the second leg to be held at the Rizal Memorial stadium on Sunday.
Sri Lanka, a world power in cricket but a minnow in football, scored the first goal in the 43rd minute when Chathura Guranarathna’s free kick thundered past the Azkals’ wall, partially hit the head of Rob Gier and beat goalkeeper Neil Etheridge.
The Azkals, however, did not lose hope and turned to Fil-American rookie Nate Burkey to score the equalizer seven minutes later.
Burkey, inserted into the game in place of injured striker Phil Younghusband, was at the right place and at the right time to head home the all-important goal. He completed a follow up header off a missed header by James Younghusband, a play set up by a gorgeous free kick by Caligdong.
Despite the less-than-stellar result, Weiss remained confident they can overcome Sri Lanka at home.
The Azkals need only to hold Sri Lanka scoreless to get into the next round against Kuwait by virtue of away goal. If it ends at 1-1, an extra time will be needed, but if it closes out on a 2-2, the Philippines will be eliminated.
Philippine Football Federation chief Mariano Araneta said “the Azkals were more skillful, but were sluggish in the first half” probably because of two factors: the uneven pitch and fatigue.
“In the first half, we were forced to play long balls. But come the second half, after adjusting, they were on fire,” Araneta said. “Fatigue may also have set in considering the training in Germany and the long travel time (15 hours, from Frankfurt) going to Sri Colombo. They had limited time to recover.”
The Azkals had more chances to score with Fil-German Stephan Schrock, Fil-Spanish Angel Guirado and Chieffy Caligdong showing off their attacking skills, but their inability to finish the plays compounded their woes.
Phil Younghusband, however, is a doubtful starter – a fact downplayed by Araneta.
“We scored without him (Phil) on the pitch. So I’m confident anyone in the line up can fill in the shoes of Phil if ever he’s out,” said the PFF chief.
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