Patrick Reichelt with one of his numerous on-goal attempts in the first leg of the 2012 AFF Suzuki Cup semi-finals against Singapore on Saturday. (FCF / Jenner Ong)
Azkals gain upper hand entering final leg in Singapore
In their second straight semi-finals appearance, the Philippines finally landed on home soil for their first-ever AFF Suzuki Cup home match.
However, their highly-anticipated match ended in a scoreless draw on Saturday night at the near-capacity crowd at the historic Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila.
Despite the nil-nil scoreline, both the Azkals and Lions had their respective fair shares of attempts. The visiting side got the upper hand in the first half, getting the bigger share of possessions and challenges at the goal, highlighted by respective shots by Aleksandar Duric and Daniel Bennett in the 26th and 28th minutes.
“I think we saw two different halves today. (In) the first half, our team was somehow scary and sitting too deep. So we played in the cards of Singapore, inviting them to build up and distribute long balls and create difficult situations for us in the backline,” said Philippines head coach Hans Michael Weiss following the match.
Needing a change, Weiss turned to Marwin Angeles for an instant spark off the bench to replace an “erring” Jason De Jong.
“We made a change in halftime also because in the midfield Jason De Jong made too much missed passes and had to bring in a new player and it paid off. Marwin (Angeles) played a good game,” noted Weiss.
The change did prove to be fruitful, as the tables were turned in favor of the Azkals with multiple attempts by the likes of Dennis Caraga and Paul Mulders either getting saved or just going off-target.
Chieffy Caligdong made a late-game appearance in the 78th minute and was even able to make a number of attacks in limited minutes off the bench.
Despite the result, Weiss remained upbeat about their chances entering their rematch on December 12 in Singapore’s Jalan Besar Stadium.
“I think the team has all the reason to be confident because we played with solid defense again today. We keep a clean sheet ahead of the (second leg in Singapore),” noted Weiss.
