Gier consoles fallen Nationals

MANAMA – After Iraqi referee Mohanad Qasum Eesee Sarray blew the final whistle to formalize the Philippine Azkals’ 0-2 loss to Bahrain, veteran Rob Gier hugged his teammates and whispered consoling words to their ears one by one.

“It’s just difficult after the game; the wound is still fresh after a defeat like that. I’m just telling the guys to keep their heads up,” said Gier after the latest sad episode for the Azkals.

“Everyone knows we didn’t perform to our best today and the result didn’t go according to plan. Sometimes it’s best to let everything settle down and then we make up when we come out again in three weeks’ time and we really hit it hard again,” he added.

He was referring to next month’s home outing against Yemen at Rizal Memorial.

Gier isn’t doing much on field during actual games spent lately but continued to be an influential force in the Azkals’ camp off it with his leadership and wisdom.

“There were times a couple of years ago when few believed we can mix it with the likes of Bahrain. They are above us (in ranking) but now we’ve raised our level and we can mix with them. And then our younger guys are coming through and getting more exposure so yeah, I think there are some positives to be taken out of this game,” he said.