Hopes dim as Azkals bow to Thais

BANGKOK – The odds that the Philippine Azkals are facing in Group A of the AFF Suzuki Cup just got a lot tougher.

Absorbing a numbing 1-2 setback at the hands of host Thailand on a wet Saturday night at start of hostilities at the Rajamangala Stadium, the Azkals lick their wounds and prepare to bounce back against another formidable foe tomorrow in a bid to stay in the hunt for a semifinal berth.

Their next opponent in a seriously must-win second outing is Vietnam, a side they had used as launching pad to author their surprise semis showing in 2010, but one that could very well write them off in the ongoing Southeast Asian showpiece.

The Azkals will also have to get past the Vietnames sans coach Michael Weiss, who was suspended for one game for throwing the ball to an injured Anucha Kitpongsri, who was on the ground near the Phl bench.

As it is, the Azkals occupied the rear of Group A, a bracket largely considered as a “Group of Death,” behind Thailand (3 pts) and Myanmar and Vietnam, who logged one point apiece after a 1-1 standoff in Saturday’s other game.

“We didn’t play our best (against Thailand) and we needed that game to get into the rhythm,” said Weiss.

“We’re always bringing in players from Europe but that doesn’t automatically mean we’ll beat a strong team like Thailand at their homefield. I think we’ll get into good rhythm (in the match against Vietnam) and I’m pretty sure we’ll have a very good chance to advance to the second round,” added Weiss, who will sit out the next game after getting a red card in the Thailand match.

A few days before the tourney, striker Denis Wolf hurt his ankle and midfielder Demit Omphroy went down with a flu, forcing them to sit out the match against the Thais.

On the pitch made wet by the heavy downpour, the Azkals were on the backfoot most of the match, most especially the first half, where they yielded goals to Jakkapan Pornsai and  Anucha Kitpongsri within a two-minute stretch, allowing the War Elephants to set the tone for the match.

So rugged was the action initiated by the War Elephants that Juani Guirado suffered a busted lip after taking an elbow to the cheek that netted only a yellow card and made Weiss furious. Phil Younghusband also had to bet treated on the sidelines for some 10 minutes for a pair of cuts he sustained from a head clash and a swinging arm, leaving the Azkals’ short-handed and disrupting their rhythm.

Weiss himself let the heat get into him. The German mentor tossed the ball into a fallen Kitpongsri at the 80th minute, prompting Japanese referee to send him off as boos marked his way to the dugout.

“We had a good first 15-20 minutes. We wanted not to sit too deep and didn’t want to invite the home team to bring in one attack after another. But we couldn’t keep our concentration and defensive part of the game into halftime, so we were in a hole,” said Weiss.

The Azkals did make a run for it in the second half, with the infusion of Marwin Angeles and Patrick Reichelt for Phil and James Younghusband, respectively, and Jeffrey Christiaens vice skipper Chieffy Caligdong.

Reichelt deftly eluded his defender in the 76th minute and delivered the ball to Mulders, who knocked in his first international goal for Phl and brought back life into the Azkals.

“We decided to make three changes in the second half, which paid off and I think we didn’t let them (Thailand) come into their game so much anymore in the second half,” said Weiss. 

But the Thais wouldn’t let this one slip away.

“Overall it was a deserved victory for Thailand,” Weiss conceded.