Philippines nicks Singapore for 1-1 draw

Standing left to right: Aly Borromeo, James Younghusband, Neil Etheridge, Ian Araneta, Anton del Rosario, and Rob Gier. Crouching left to right: Jason de Jong, Phil Younghusband, Chieffy Caligdong, Chris Greatwich, and Ray Jonsson.

Philippines nicks Singapore for 1-1 draw

story and pics by rick olivares

HANOI, VIETNAM -- Chris Greatwich banged home a spectacular injury time goal from a fine cross from James Younghusband to give the Philippines a 1-1 draw with Singapore in the opening match of Group B in the AFF Suzuki Cup 2010 at the My Dinh National Stadium last Thursday, December 2.

Greatwich’s fourth international goal came in the fourth and final minute of injury time and was incredibly the third time the Philippines scored in the 94^th minute of a match. Last October 24, “the Azkals”, as the team is fondly called, pulled that trick was against Laos during the Suzuki Cup Qualifiers when James Younghusband struck for a 2-2 draw that sent the Philippines into the Final Rounds. Then last October 10, striker Ian Araneta also scored in the 94^th minute of the Long Teng Cup in Taipei to give the Philippines a 1-1 draw with Chinese Taipei.

Singapore, the three-time winners of the Asean region’s most prestigious football competition, had taken a 1-nil lead in the 65^th minute off a header by Aleksandar Duric – his 12^th for Singapore – off a cross by Noh Alam Shah.

After being battled to a standstill in the first half, “the Lions” as Singapore is nicknamed, added another man to their attack where they found the defense somewhat porous in the middle. Duric drew a couple of defenders allowing him to pass to an unmarked teammate for those crosses and strikes.

“One of our objectives was to keep them off balance,” said the national’s head coach Simon McMenemy who also guided the team through their qualifiers in Laos last November. “We wanted to take away their capabilities and battle them all the way.”

In only the country’s second appearance in the biennial competition, the Philippines went on the attack from the onset and even claimed the first corner kick of the match. There were several scoring chances including one cross by striker Phil Younghusband that found a gap in Singapore’s defense except that there was no Filipino to finish it off.

The title contenders had their scoring chances including a missed shot by Emelio “Chieffy” Caligdong in the 60^th minute as he blew past defender Mohamed Noh Bin Rahman but Philippine goalkeeper Neil Etheridge and the team’s defense, anchored by team captain Aly Borromeo repulsed the sorties until Duric’s goal.

The home crowd, cheering on the Philippines not just because of its underdog status but also because an upset or even a draw would give Vietnam an advantage in the points to be accrued from the match.

In the press conference the previous day, Singapore’s Serbian coach Radojko Avramovic talked about scoring goals against the Philippines because the goal differential could prove crucial in the final standings.

“They weren’t talking about beating us,” noted Borromeo. “They were already calculating in their mind how many goals they would score against us.”

“The disrespect is fine,” added defender Anton del Rosario. “We’re used to that. But that is what we want – them being overconfident.”

The Philippines’ counterattacks were proving to be too troublesome that Singapore had their entire team going back down on defense. “We got them worried,” observed McMenemy.

They also got the Singaporeans unsettled as Mustafic Fahrudin, one of the team’s two naturalized Serbians, was seen talking trash with Greatwich and the other Filipinos forcing McMenemy to join the verbal fray.

With time approaching the 80^th minute, the Philippines changed its attack formation from the standard 4-4-2 to a 4-3-3 with James Younghusband joining his brother Phil and del Rosario who went up to join the attack while Joebel Bermejo took over his spot at right back and Roel Gener in place of Caligdong at left midfield). “It didn’t matter at that point if they scored,” reasoned McMenemy. “We needed to increase our chances.”

After the match, Singapore’s Avramovic grudgingly paid respect to the Philippines. “They fought for 90 minutes while we played unprofessionally in the last three minutes (of injury time).”

Singapore defender David Mark Bennet was more effuse in his praise, “We don’t play too many teams that show that kind of passion. That’s a well-deserved point for them.”