Undermanned Azkals blank Nepal anew; Palami far from satisfied

MANILA, Philippines -- The Philippine Azkals continued their dominant play against Nepal as they fashioned out a second straight 3-0 victory on Saturday at Grand Hamad Stadium in Doha, Qatar.

The win was a repeat of the Azkals' first victory under American coach Thomas Dooley last April in their buildup for the AFC Challenge Cup.

This time, the match was part of the Azkals' preparation for the AFF Suzuki Cup later this month.

The victory came on the heels of a brewing club vs national team issue as Azkals mainstays Jeffrey Christiaens, Juani Guirado, Manny Ott and Patrick Reichelt were not allowed by their mother team Ceres to join the trip due to the ongoing United Football League Cup.

Ceres has entered the semifinals and will play Pachanga FC on Tuesday but the team committed to release the four players to fulfill their national duties after the tournament, just about a week before the AFF Suzuki Cup kicks off.

Despite their absence, the Azkals still managed to dominate their Nepalese counterparts. But not after a scoreless first half.

The dam broke loose when Simon Greatwhich scored his first international goal for the Azkals four minutes into the second half. Phil Younghusband and Mark Hartmann came through with two more goals late in the match to seal the win.

Despite their early struggles, Azkals team manager Dan Palami believes that the team will get sharper as they play more matches.

[The team] still needs a lot of adjustment. The basic system is there but we need more time together especially adjustment to the natural grass," Palami told Philstar.com in a text message from Qatar.

"Most of the players had difficulty adjusting in the first half after having been used to play in the turf field at home. But we should be ready by the time we leave for Hanoi," he added.

The Azkals will play Thailand on Nov. 9 before wrapping up their preparation with a home match against Cambodia on Nov. 14. They are scheduled to start their AFF Suzuki Cup campaign against Laos on Nov. 22 at Hanoi, Vietnam.