Azkals play Bahrain to scoreless draw

MANILA, Philippines - Enjoying their best standing in the world rankings and still on a high from winning a first international crown in 99 years, the Philippine Azkals stunned the more fancied Bahrain side with a scoreless draw in a friendly Friday night at the Al Muharraq Stadium in Manama.

The Azkals, ranked 147th by the Fifa and fresh from winning the four-nation Philippine Football Peace Cup, took the game to the 115th-ranked Bahrainis and bravely held their ground when the home team cranked up intensity in the final half, to pull off one of their best results.

In the Middle East as part of buildup for next month’s AFF Suzuki Cup, Phl XI was the more aggressive side in the first half, making a number of inroads, topped off by a golden chance for striker Denis Wolf at the 31st minute.

The Golden Boot winner in the Peace Cup who’s taking the offensive load in the absence of Phil Younghusband, Wolf evaded the offside trap for a one-on-one situation against Bahrain’s star keeper Abbas Ahmed but found himself denied.

Halftime stats showed the Azkals making six attempts, four of them on target, two more than the Bahrainis.

The home side actually nearly put one on the scoreboard in the 15th minute, when a striker beat Phl custodian Roland Muller but veteran defender Rob Gier stepped in and cleared the shot.

Gier and his companions at the backline, Ray Jonsson, Juani Guirado, and Dennis Cagara were on top of the situation, especially in the second half, where Bahrain made player changes and put up a more determined approach and unleashed waves of attacks.

The last 45 minutes of play had Bahrain making five attempts, with two on target, while the Azkals had only one attempt, courtesy of teener OJ Porteria.

A late sub for Wolf, the 17-year-old Porteria received a fine delivery from Misagh Bahadoran and fired a shot that just ended up straight to the Bahraini keeper at the 90th minute.

Bahadoran made one other good pass in the game, feeding Wolf the ball in the 72nd minute but the Fil-German mistimed his step and slipped inside the penalty area.

The Azkals eked out the ego-boosting draw despite the absence of Phil and James Younghusband, injured Jason Sabio, first choice keeper Neil Etheridge and Stephan Schrock.

It should come as a confidence builder and inspiration when the Pinoy booters play Kuwait, their tormentor in the 2014 Fifa World Cup Asian Qualifiers, on Tuesday in Kuwait City. The Younghusband brothers are expected to be with the squad, along with Angel Guirado.