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Post by Usapang Football on Sept 15, 2010 12:07:29 GMT 8
Nationals draw tough Asean football group newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadl...rticle_id=35089By Cedelf P. Tupas Inquirer Last updated 02:08am (Mla time) 11/28/2006 Published on page A24 of the November 28, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer THE PHILIPPINES, the second lowest-ranked Southeast Asian country in football, yesterday wound up in a tough draw in the 2007 Asean Football Championship after being bracketed in a group with three-time champion and co-host Thailand. Ranked 184th in the world, the RP booters, who overcame Brunei, Timor Leste and Cambodia in the Asean Football Championship-Qualifiers in Bacolod City to advance to the tournament proper, is in the group that also has 2004 semifinalist Malaysia and Myanmar. Hoping to ride the momentum of their impressive home victories, the Filipinos face Malaysia on Jan. 12, 2007 before colliding with the Thais two days later. Myanmar will be the Filipinos’ last assignment on Jan. 16. Except for the absence of Timor Leste, which failed to qualify, the group where the Philippines is bracketed is closely similar to two years ago when the event was played in Malaysia. There, the Filipinos narrowly lost to Myanmar, 0-1, before dropping out of contention following setbacks at the hands of Malaysia (1-4) and Thailand (1-3). The other group includes reigning titlist and co-host Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia and top qualifier Laos, which defeated the Philippines, 2-1, in Bacolod. Only the top two teams from each group will advance to the semifinals. Though his players are based in three different continents, RP coach Aris Caslib expressed confidence that he would be able to retain the same lineup for the tournament. “We hope to retain 100 percent of the squad,” Caslib said. “We need at least three weeks of training together to have a good chance in the Asean Championship.” Caslib’s biggest cause of concern is star striker Phil Younghusband, who is under contract with the reserves team of Chelsea, a top British club.
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Post by Usapang Football on Sept 15, 2010 12:07:46 GMT 8
RP plays Malaysia in Asean football opener on Jan. 12 www.mb.com.ph/SPRT2006112880925.htmlTHE PHILIPPINE Football team which made history by advancing into the tournament proper of the Asean Football Championship will be in for a tough grind. The Filipinos, who finished second behind Laos in the qualifiers a week ago at the Panaad Stadium Bacolod, have been drawn in Group B with three-time winner Thailand, Malaysia and Myanmar. The RP team battles Malaysia in their first appearance on Jan. 12 after which it plays Thailand on Jan. 14, then Myanmar on Jan. 16. Thailand will co-host the tournament with two-time winner Singapore, which has been drawn in Group B along with Indonesia, Vietnam and Laos. Group A matches will take place in Bangkok and Group B will play their games in Singapore. The winner and runner up in each of the two groups go through to the semifinals and the final, which are played on a home and away format. The group matches will be played from Jan. 12-17, and the semifinals and final will take place between Jan. 23 and Feb. 4. The Asean Football Championships, formerly known as the Tiger Cup, take place every two years. Officials of the Philippine Football Federation are hopeful the team can pull off some surprises "This is no longer the team that played defensively yet would still lose by huge margins, like the 13-1 thrashing the Nationals took at the hands of Indonesia in the 2002 Tiger Cup, the old name of the ASEAN meet," said PFF media chief Ed Formoso. He said brilliant and innovative coach and a group of talented players coming from three continents (Europe, North America and Asia) have helped put the team on the Asean map. "This is for Philippine football," national coach Aris Caslib said after the host booters clinched the second berth to the ASEAN tourney with a 4-1 victory over Brunei two weeks ago.
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Post by Usapang Football on Sept 15, 2010 12:08:17 GMT 8
RP plays Malaysia in ASEAN opener www.philstar.com/philstar/NEWS200701121608.htmThe Philippine Star 01/12/2007 The Philippines, once the whipping team of Southeast Asian football, plays Malaysia today, gunning for no less than a semifinal stint in the Asean Football Championship which kicks off in Bangkok, Thailand. Coach Aris Caslib believes his young squad, backstopped by Fil-foreign players headed by James Younghusband, has got what it takes to beat the Malaysians in their opening game and go on to qualify for the last four from Group A. "Our target is the semifinal," said Caslib in an interview with Aseanfootball.org. "The quality of our players is on a par or even better than some of the Malaysian players. The playing style of Malaysia does not change. We are progressing more quickly than players competing in Malaysia and other Southeast Asian countries." Caslib took over as coach of the team ahead of the AFC in 2004 and met his target of the Philippines winning their first ever game in the tournament — a 2-1 victory over Timor Leste which came courtesy of two late goals from Emelio Caligdong. "Before (in the Asean Football Championship) we never imagined winning," said Caslib. "But now the attitude of the team is not just to score a few goals, but to win. That is the difference from the past teams and now, we can do battle with any team in Southeast Asia." The RP-Malaysia duel will be telecast live on STAR Sports starting at 5:30 p.m. One downside is that star forward Philip Younghusband, who scored six goals in the AFC qualifiers in Bacolod in November when the Philippines finished second to Laos, will not see action in Bangkok. Philip, whose brother James remains in the squad, is a reserve player with English Premiership champions Chelsea and reportedly moved on loan to Queens Park Rangers earlier this week. "If a player scores six goals, that speaks a lot about his quality, so yes, we will miss him (Philip)," said Caslib. "But we have other players who can take on the responsibility (of scoring goals)." The Philippines played three warm-up matches in Singapore ahead of the AFC, dropping a 1-4 decision to the senior national team, losing, 0-1, to the under-23s and beating the Olympic side, 1-0. "Thailand is No. 1 ranked team in our group but we have a chance against Malaysia and Myanmar. It is my firm conviction that we are not far behind them (in playing standard)," said Caslib. Meanwhile, the Philippines continued its rise in world football this month, jumping 13 places to 171st in the yearend rankings released by the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). From 184th in November, the Filipinos saw an improvement in their world rankings following their inspiring performance at the recent AFC qualifiers in Bacolod City where they picked up 61 points. Despite losing, 1-2, to Laos, the Filipinos won three straight matches — 7-0 over Timor Leste; 1-0 over Cambodia; and 4-1 over Brunei, thus allowing them to clinch a spot alongside Laos for the AFC Championship.
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Post by Usapang Football on Sept 15, 2010 12:09:11 GMT 8
Malaysia beats RP eleven, 4-0
THE PHILIPPINES put up a gallant stand against Malaysia yesterday but its best proved not enough as the Filipinos went down 4-0 in their opening match at the Asean Football Championships in Bangkok.
The Malaysians, behind Nizarudin, raced to a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes. The Filipinos tried to fight back but the Malaysian’s showed more maturity with their ball movement and defense to score the easy victory.
It was the third loss for the Filipinos against the Malaysians who had beaten them in the Manila Southeast Asian Games in 2005 and in the Asean meet in 2004.
Though revenge was in the eyes of the underdog Philippines, retribution never came despite an aggresive second half as their attack were deftly thwarted by the Malaysian keeper.
The Filipino were finally done in when Anton del Rosario gifted the Malaysians an own goal that put RP behind 3-0 in the 73rd minute.
Eight minutes later, Omar Haryudin scooted past Filipino goalie Michael Casas for the Malaysians’ fourth point.
The Filipinos managed only four shots at their goal, three of them checked by the Malaysian goalie. The Malaysians had 10 shots at the Philippines’ goal, converting three.
The closest the Filipinos came into scoring was early in the second half when Cris Greatwich was awarded a free kick from 20 yards. Greatwich kicked the ball past the goalie but over the post.
The RP team was also hampered by the absence of its chief striker Phil Younghusband who stayed behind in England due to his commitment with premier league team Chelsea,
The Filipinos return to the pitch tomorrow with an 8 p.m. date with host Thailand.
The Philippines is in Group A which also includes Myanmar which it will play on Tuesday.
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Post by Usapang Football on Sept 15, 2010 12:09:50 GMT 8
Thailand 4 - Philippines 0
BANGKOK - Asean Football Championship 2007 co-hosts Thailand defeated the Philippines 4-0 on Sunday to go joint top of Group A with Malaysia, who missed the chance to go through to the semi-finals after their goalless draw with Myanmar in the earlier match at the Supachalasai Stadium.
The Thais were in emphatic form in the first half as they raced to a 3-0 lead but a combination of over-elaborate build up play and poor finishing saw them add just one goal in the second half.
The three-time champions needed a Suchao Nutnum equaliser four minutes into second half stoppage time to salvage a point in their first match against Myanmar but it was clear that they would have no such trouble against the tournament qualifiers, despite the absence of influential skipper Kiatisuk Senamuang.
Thailand signalled their intentions right from kick-off and created the first clear cut chance after just six minutes when Sutee Suksomkit drilled the ball into the side netting after a Datsakorn Thonglao pass had dissected a flimsy Philippines back line.
Four minutes later Anton Del Rosario hit a 25-yard-free-kick just over the bar to remind the Thais of potential danger on the counter-attack but any notions that the near miss by the USA-based defender would curtail their cavalier approach were dispelled as the home side struck three times in a blistering first half performance.
Sarayoot Chaikamdee slipped the ball past Louie Casas from the edge of the box after being put through by Sutee in the 15th minute before the impressive Pipat Thonkanya lifted the ball over the San Beda College keeper from a similar distance for Thailand's second six minutes later.
Pipat turned provider as an unmarked Sarayoot headed home his second of the night in the 28th minute before the forward, who plays his club football in Vietnam with Binh Dinh, fluffed the chance to complete his hat-trick 10 minutes later when he missed a penalty, which was awarded after Emelio Caligdong had upended Chonburi defender Suree Sukha.
Thailand were a shadow of themselves in the second half and it was the Philippines who created the better goal scoring chances after the restart, with Chris Greatwich coming close on three occasions.
The midfielder, wearing the captain's armband in place of the injured Ali Borromeo,bought the best out of Thai keeper Kosin Hathairattanakool with a low curling shot seven minutes into the second half before firing free-kick inches over the bar six minutes later.
Soon after Suree had forced a superb diving save from Casas, Kosin again had to be on his toes to tip a 71st minute header out for a corner as the Thais were struggling to find the fourth goal that would put them level with Malaysia.
It finally came in the 82nd minute when substitute Natthaphong Samana fired home from the angle of the penalty box to consign the Philippines to their second 4-0 defeat of the campaign.
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Post by Usapang Football on Sept 15, 2010 12:10:18 GMT 8
BANGKOK (Jan 15, 2007) - Both Myanmar and Philippines are hoping to replicate the better performances they have shown thus far instead of the mediocre displays when they meet in their final Group A match at the Army Stadium tomorrow.
Myanmar need to win by a five-goal margin to feel safe about a semi-final berth from the group as Thailand fight it out with Malaysia in the other group tie to be played simultaneously at the Supachalasai Stadium.
The latter two are contenders for semi-final berths, thus taking the semis race in Group A down to the wire.
Myanmar can win by a handsome margin if they play the way they did against Thailand in their opening match that ended in a stirring 1-1 draw.
However, after that bright start Myanmar stuttered to a scoreless draw against Malaysia in their next match.
Philippines were beaten 0-4 by Malaysia in the opening match and though they suffered defeat by the same score to Thailand in their second match, their performance against the Thais in the second half was their best display thus far in the competition.
With that second half display obviously in mind, Myanmar head coach U Sann Win was understandably circumspect about his team’s chances.
“We expect a difficult match but we hope to win,” said Sann Win.
“It does not matter if we win by one nil or two nil as long as we win,” he added.
It was odd Sann Win took that position since a larger margin of victory would ensure their appearance in the semi-finals which is clearly the Myanmar’s team goal.
But true to his word stated earlier in the competition, Sann Win said his young team needed another year at least to reach its full potential.
“This team is young and needs another year of experience to become stronger,” he said.
Marlon Maro, the Philippines assistant coach, said his team would like to deploy the second half performance they unveiled against Thailand when they restricted the vaunted Thais to only one goal.
“We will to be aggressive in defence and also attack,” he asserted.
“We will employ a similar game plan as the one against Thailand. We had a torrid time against the Thais in the first half but we adjusted the plan in the second half and the boys played their best game so far.”
Both teams have players with injury problems that are not too troubling.
For Myanmar, attacking midfielder Aung Myint Aye had a cut to his nose and striker Si Thu Win had a gash on his forehead.
But coach Sann Win said he will stick to the same team which meant that the injured would recover in time for the match.
Filipino striker James Younghusband a nursing a sore hamstring that coach Marlon Maro felt was not serious enough to keep the Chelsea Reserves’ discard out of the match.
Other quotes: MYANMAR COACH U SANN WIN
I think our team will win tomorrow but it will not be easy. Philippines lost to Myanmar and Thailand by 4-0 but they are not an easy team to beat. It will be a very difficult match.
I will be happy if our team can win 1-0 or 2-0. I want to win, that is the main thing.
Khin Maung Lwin broke his nose in the match against Malaysia and Si Thu Win also has a facial injury but both of them should be okay to play - they have told me they want to play.
We only beat the Philippines 1-0 in the 2004 Tiger Cup (16-year-old substitute San Day Thien scoring in the second minute of injury time). We expect them to be tough to beat again, they play a forceful game.
We are playing this game at the Army Stadium (in Bangkok) and the pitch there is good,
PHILIPPINES ASSISTANT COACH MARLON MARO
We are at a stage in the competition where everyone needs to score goals - Myanmar needs to score more than Malaysia and Thailand did against us (four) to qualify. (under certain circumstances).
We will play our best - we are still looking for a win here. Hopefully we can play the same way as we did in the second half against Thailand. We want to be solid in defence but we will also attack a bit more than we have done in the other games.
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Post by Usapang Football on Sept 15, 2010 12:13:16 GMT 8
The Philippines, one of the success stories of Southeast Asian soccer in recent times, have made a plea to the organisers of the Asean Football Championship – do not hold the tournament so close to the Christmas and New Year holiday season.
The country goes into party overdrive at that time and training sessions for the national team were put on hold for 12 days which put pressure on the coaching staff to prepare the squad in time for the January 12 kick off.
“Our preparation was cut short by the Christmas and New Year holidays. We took a 12 day break for the festive period which is very big in the Philippines,” said assistant coach Marlon Maro.
“It would be good for us if the organisers started the next tournament in February instead of January.”
The Philippines recorded their first win in the Asean Football Championship two years ago when two late goals from Emilio Caligdong gave them victory over Timor Leste.
They were hoping for more success in Bangkok but despite losing 4-0 to both Malaysia and Thailand they received a lot of praise for their ability and doggedness.
Their cause was hindered by the absence of striker Philip Younghusband, the Chelsea reserve player who hit six goals in the qualifying competition, and injury to captain Alexander Borromeo early on in their opener against Malaysia.
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Post by Usapang Football on Sept 15, 2010 12:13:48 GMT 8
Reason to Celebrate
BANGKOK, January 16 (Asean Football Championship) - The Philippines held on to record a surprise 0-0 draw against Myanmar at Army Stadium on Tuesday evening and in the process deny the 2005 semi-finalists a place in the last four of this year's Asean Football Championships.
Myanmar needed to emerge victorious and hope for either Thailand or Malaysia to win their encounter at Supachalasai Stadium to progress to the knockout phase of the competition.
And while the Thais earned a 1-0 win over the Malaysians, both of those teams will go through after Myanmar failed to keep their end of the bargain in one of the shock results in the competition's 11-year history.
Striker Si Thu Win hit the post 16 minutes from time as Myanmar pushed forward desperately looking for the winner but they were unable to beat goalkeeper Michael Casas and his courageous defence.
The point was the first the Philippines had picked up in this year's event after successive 4-0 defeats at the hands of the Thais and Malaysians but it was richly deserved thanks to their determined defending.
For all their dominance in possession, Myanmar rarely created any clear-cut scoring opportunities in the opening 45 minutes.
Khin Maung Lwin saw his sixth-minute free kick palmed over the crossbar by Casas while Thu Win's shot on the turn three minutes later was well off target.
In the 21st minute, however, U Sann Win's side should have taken the lead when Yan Paing slipped his pass behind the Philippine defence, leaving Aung Myint Aye to race in on goal, but Casas denied the striker with a fine save with his feet.
The second half started off in cagey fashion and the Philippines almost took the lead against the run of play when substitute Jeffery Liman hit a sweetly struck effort from the edge of the area that only just cleared the crossbar.
As the clock ran down, however, Myanmar cranked up the pressure and a goal looked increasingly likely as the Filipinos tired, dropping deeper and deeper in defence.
Thu Win was the man causing the majority of the problems - and squandering most of the chances to give his team the win they desperately needed.
Eighteen minutes from time his low shot from distance was fumbled by Casas before going behind for a corner, from which captain Zaw Lynn Tun headed over the bar when he should have scored.
Two minutes later Thu Win's turn and shot finally left the Philippine defence stranded, but this time Casas' left upright came to his team's rescue.
And with 14 minutes to go Thu Win had no one but himself to blame when, unmarked, he rose to nod substitute Kyaw Thu Ra's cross over the bar.
As Myanmar pushed forward so the threat of the counter-attack loomed and Alvin Valeroso should have done better when he found himself with only Kyaw Zin Htet to beat, firing his shot straight at the goalkeeper in the 68th minute.
In stoppage time, defender Anton Del Rosario came to his side's rescue when he headed Yazar Win Thein's shot off his line with Casas beaten as the Philippines held on to record a famous result and deny Myanmar a place in the last four.
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Post by Usapang Football on Sept 15, 2010 12:14:34 GMT 8
Excerpts from coach Aris Caslib after drawing Myanmar 0-0
Despite picking up an unexpected point, Philippine coach Aris Caslib was frustrated his team did not collect more than a draw.
With Myanmar pushing for the win, chances fell for substitute Alvin Valeroso while Jeffery Liman saw his well-struck effort just clear the crossbar early in the second half.
'We could have taken the match, but a lack of match experience against quality players might have been the reason for the draw,' he said.
'But I'm proud of the Philippine team. I think we are really moving forward and hopefully the young players will continue to serve the country the way they have today.'
Goalkeeper Michael Casas made several important saves to allow the Philippines to earn their first point of the competition and put a positive sheen on what has been a disappointing finals appearance.
'It was very hard,' said Caslib. 'They had a lot of chances and we were fortunate that we were able to hold on and we have to recognise the performance of our goalkeeper, but the problem was that we were not able to maximise the chances we had.
'Our main target was six points and we were lucky enough to get one point today. The development of football in the Philippines is progressing and we have to nurture it and take our responsibility seriously.'
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