Azkals bow to Lions, drop out of finals

SINGAPORE – For now, the Azkals’ Cinderella run in the AFF Suzuki Cup will stay at the semifinal level.

Conceding a cheap goal in the 19th minute and never really finding the mark in a frantic bid to equalize, the Azkals bowed to Singapore, 0-1, to bomb out of the finals of Southeast Asia’s premier bootfest last night at Jalan Besar Stadium here.

Counting the 0-0 draw in the first leg in Manila, the Lions thus won the semis duel on goal agreggate, 1-0, to secure a seat in the championship against either Thailand or Malaysia. The Thais and the Malaysians, who battled to a 1-1 draw in the first leg, will dispute the second finals berth tonight over in Bangkok.

The Azkals got caught flat-footed in a fateful sequence that eventually spelled their doom. Shahdan Sulamain, instead of launching a cross off a free kick, delivered a short pass to Khairul Amri who ran and blasted from about 25 yards. Ball hit the ground to the right of a standing Sacapaño and bounced in. Bam! Game-winner.

“The first goal was a gift from our side. In the last 10 days preparing against Singapore, we’re always talking about set-pieces. And we gave away a simple set piece. It was a very nice goal, though, but one that shouldn’t have happened. We felt there was no foul but then again it’s not the reason we lost,” said Azkals coach Michael Weiss.

The Phl tried desperately to bounce back and salvage a scoring draw that could have earned it a first-ever finals. There were determined attempts even from defender Dennis Cagara as the Azkals sent men forward. 

But it was not meant to be. 

When the final whistle was blown, the Azkals slumped down on their back and on their knees, hands on their faces,  as chants of Ole-Ole-Ole reverberated in the compact stadium. Weiss and team manager Dan Palami went to the players one by one to give pats on the back for a good run.

“Overall, it was a good achievement, reaching the semifinals. We hope we can build from this experience,” said Weiss. “We didn’t have too much time to mourn. We’re already preparing for the Challenge Cup (qualifiers to be hosted by Phl in March 2013).”

As in the first leg, the Lions got the better of the midfield action and punched through the Azkals’ defense to create a number of good scoring opportunities.

Other than Khairul Amri’s connection, the Lions also found space to fire a pair of dangerous tries inside the box. Baihakki Khaizan’s header off a free kick in the 32nd  just got saved by Sacapaño and seven minutes later, Alexandar Duric launched one off a counter only to be denied by the Phl keeper.

The Azkals somehow found their rhythm in the last three minutes of the first half. Phil Younghusband, a constant target of the Lions’ hard tackles, managed to launch a low shot off a nice feed from Angel Guirado at the 42nd but Izwan Mahbud was there to neutralize the threat. 

Younghusband had one more try in stoppage time, but was foiled by Izwan who went out of his line to foil the Phl’s ace striker.