by rick olivares
Make no mistake. The 3-2 loss in the Peace Cup Finals to Myanmar
hurts as the Philippines is a bridesmaid for the second consecutive tournament.
While the Peace Cup isn’t on the same level as the AFC Challenge Cup or the
upcoming Suzuki Cup, this is a tournament that the team should have still won.
It was on home soil. It was in Manila for the first time since the Challenge
Cup Qualifiers in March of 2013. Myanmar was on the ropes with about two
minutes left from the end of regulation. It was a perfect way to continue
dominance on a foe that once had its way with the Philippines.
From the time the two countries met in 1995, Myanmar, has been a
tough foe. In the first ten years or so, the Burmese registered an imperious
6-0-0 slate against the Philippines. Then came three consecutive draws before
the Azkals took two straight wins against them including one in the nation’s
largest city, Yangon.
However, in the Peace Cup Finals, the Azkals conceded a late goal in
stoppage time and the game winner in the first period of extra time as Myanmar gained
its revenge by beating the Philippines in the capital city and sent the Raddy Avramovic
era to a smashing start ahead of the Suzuki Cup. It would be interesting to
note that the Serbian has won in all his stops – Oman, Kuwait, Singapore, and
now Myanmar.
Myanmar-Philippines head-to-head match-ups:
DATE
|
VENUE
|
SCORE
|
RESULT
|
4/12/1995
|
Lampoon
|
4-1
|
L
|
8/31/1998
|
Ho Chi Minh City
|
5-2
|
L
|
8/1/1999
|
Bandar Seri Begawan
|
4-1
|
L
|
11/8/2000
|
Chiang Mai
|
3-0
|
L
|
12/17/2002
|
Jakarta
|
6-1
|
L
|
12/8/2004
|
Shah Alam
|
1-0
|
L
|
1/16/2007
|
Bangkok
|
0-0
|
D
|
12/8/2010
|
Nam Dinh
|
0-0
|
D
|
3/21/2011
|
Yangon
|
1-1
|
D
|
11/30/2012
|
Bangkok
|
0-2
|
W
|
2/6/2013
|
Yangon
|
0-1
|
W
|
9/6/2014
|
Manila
|
3-2
|
L
|
All three of Myanmar’s goals came off mistakes:
Burmese striker Kyaw Ko Ko spotted Philippine keeper Roland Muller
off his line and fired about a 30-yard blast from the left that struck the far
post and ricocheted in in only the eighth minute.
Off a foul from the right wing, Burmese midfielder Min Min Thu rose
above his defender to head home the equalizer in the second minute of the
four-minute stoppage time.
And lastly, forward Soe Min Oo was left unmarked on the left side
as he banged home the marginal goal at the 103rd minute.
It was a tough job for Kenshiro Daniels who I was surprised to see
playing that right back position when that is not his natural position. Sure
Kenshiro did pretty well but the late game lapse of concentration hurt. And
that begs the question why Amani Aguinaldo or other veteran defenders were not
introduced in the game to shore up the defense.
Maybe that is easy to say in hindsight. And I do not know the
fitness level or even their frame of mind of the players. Fair enough.
Having said that, I thought that Mynamar discombobulated the
Azkals’ midfield in the first half. With no proper build up, the Philippines
resorted to long ball play. I liked them finding Patrick Reichelt on the right
flank where he utilized his speed for which Myanmar had no answer. Why this
wasn’t continuously exploited I don’t know. Now there’s nothing wrong with
playing the long ball but if it’s because of the inability to move it up from
the middle then there’s something wrong. Nevertheless, it was Reichelt’s speed
that won the penalty that Phil Younghusband converted in the 71st
minute.
Nevertheless, I’d credit Phil’s presence on the left side as the
Burmese concentrated their defense there to stop the Philippines’ all-time
leading goalscorer who tacked on his 37th international goal. That
made it easier for Reichelt to exploit the spotty defense on the right.
I liked Misagh Bahadoran, another speedy and creative player on
that side except that Global’s impact player didn’t have his mojo that night.
Maybe OJ Porteria should have been introduced much earlier in the game.
I also thought that the Azkals were a little too passive in the
first half as Myanmar had their way with the ball.
It was my belief that the Philippines needed to be aggressive on
defense; to press the Burmese and so as not to be confortable in their sets. On
offense, to make use of better space and
quickly support the attackers. And perhaps to pass and run into space and pass
as there’s a tendency to over dribble and try to beat a gaggle of defenders.
True enough, the halftime adjustments by Thomas Dooley were superb
as they pressed and hounded Myanmar into mistakes. And the Philippines were
immediately rewarded when the ball went out to defender Daisuke Sato from just
outside the box and his scorcher evened up matters. Reichelt’s speed netted a
Myanmar penalty that Younghusband converted. Simone Rota looked to have bundled
in a goal that would have served as a buffer but he was correctly flagged for
being offside.
Right around extra time, after Bahadoran fouled a Myanmar player on
the right wing to give the visitors a free kick, I hoped that this wouldn’t be
akin to American midfielder Michael Bradley coughing up that ball that allowed
Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo to find late sub Silvestre Varela who equalized
with two minutes left in stoppage time in their recent World Cup clash.
Watching that goal made me sick to my stomach. As the game
progressed, Myanmar got stronger and more resolute in their attacks. All game
long, they went to their system, build up, use the spaces and find the cracks
in the defense. Their set plays gave us plenty of trouble.
And though several of Myanmar’s players were seen battling cramps,
their substitutes were far more effective. They never wavered even when they
lost Avramovic who was banished to the stands or when they went down, 2-1,
following Phil’s penalty goal.
I know we didn’t see the best performance of the Philippine team
here. In fact, I don’t think that every player on the pitch wearing white
functioned well. So this should serve as more than enough motivation to win the
Suzuki Cup this November.
I remain hopeful and confident of our chances and supportive of the
team. Can I do no less? Although, I have to say that Peace Cup loss still
leaves me and I am sure a lot of others including the team and the officials in
pieces.
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