All Hail Chieffy: Azkals beat Vietnam anew, 1-0

MANILA, Philippines - Just when the semis door is about to shut down, the Azkals turned to a fallen hero to repeat the "Hanoi Miracle".

Chieffy Caligdong bounced back from a sub-par performance in a 2-1 loss to Thailand to score the lone goal in a 1-0 win Tuesday night at the Ramajangala Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand that put the Philippine Azkals' one foot in the semis of the AFF Suzuki Cup.

With five minutes left in the regulation, Caligdong received a well-placed lob pass in the left flank from Angel Guirado on top of the box and used his left foot to slot in the goal that roared all the way to the Philippines.

"Sabi ko sa sarili ko, darating din yung chance na makakabawi ako sa laro ko sa Thailand," Caligdong said in a phone interview with AKTV's Jason Webb and guests La Salle coach Hans Smit and former Azkal Armand del Rosario right after the match.

Caligdong, who started against Thailand, came in as the final substitute of the Azkals replacing James Younghusband in the 75th minute which proved to be the turning point of the erstwhile scoreless match. The 30-year old team skipper immediately made his presence felt but failed to connect in an earlier pass by Guirado. The duo linked up again, this time, with Guirado missing a chance to score as his header went straight to Vietnam's keeper Hong Son Duong.  It was not until 10 minutes after he came in that Caligdong would get another chance to drill in the country's biggest goal in the tournament so far.

"Sobrang saya ko. Ibinigay ko 101%. Masaya kami lahat dito sa dugout but we can't celebrate. May laban pa kami. We have a big chance now to enter the semis," Caligdong added.

The Azkals now need to follow up this victory with another one against Myanmar on Friday to officially book a semifinals seat. Thailand clinched the first semifinals slot in their group with a 4-0 demolition of Myanmar in the nightcap for their second win in a row.

It was the second consecutive win for the Azkals over Vietnam, their only wins in their eight head-to-head meetings.

The ASEAN's top ranked Vietnam (138th) also lost 2-0 to the 143rd-ranked Azkals in the group stages of the same tournament two years ago that signaled the rise of the "Azkal-mania". The Azkals went on to their first semifinals appearance in the region's top flight competition and now has a great chance to repeat or even surpass that feat.

Caligdong was not the only hero, who stepped up in this match, for the Azkals.

There was Ed Sacapano who was also spectacular submitting a clean sheet after allowing two goals against Thailand in their opening game. Juani Guirado anchored the rock-solid Back Four alongside Rob Gier, Dennis Cagara and Ray Jonsson, who all worked doubly hard especially in the second half when the Red Warriors seemed to have taken control and collared the lion's share of possessions. And there were the coaching staff led by assistant coaches Edwin Cabalida and Edzel Bracamonte, who steadied the Azkals with timely substitutions, in lieu of suspended coach Michael Weiss.

Not until Guirado and Caligdong came in that momentum shifted back to the Azkals' favor on the night the country's top striker Phil Younghusband struggled on offense.

The Azkals was more compact and played better than the Thailand match early in the first half with Phil Younghusband getting a lot of scoring chances, none bigger than the one he had in the 11th minute.  The younger Younghusband, however, muffed the chance to put the Azkals on board as he slipped in the last minute causing him to lose control of the ball.

With the Azkals up by 1 in the latter part of the match, Vietnam, who came here looking for the sweet revenge that never came, almost pulled a draw had Le Tan Tai's attempt did not hit the cross bar after Sacapano's deflection. The Azkals' defense held up in the closing minutes when the Vietnamese desperately looked for the equalizer. 

The Azkals-Myanmar match will be telecast live 9pm on Friday over at AKTV on IBC right after the PBA double-header.