What did we learn from the Azkals’ friendlies?ROY MOORE June 14, 2012 2:49pm
Two draws and a win is a familiar story for the Azkals. The Philippines finished the group stage of the 2010 Suzuki Cup, the Challenge Cup Qualifying group last year and the 2011 Long Teng Cup with the same record of five points from two draws and a win.
This time round the Philippines picked up a goalless draw in Malaysia before coming from behind twice against Indonesia for a 2-2 draw and then decisively beating Guam 3-0 at the Panaad Stadium.
The Azkals can grind out results
The draw against Malaysia was a tactic. Weiss set up a defensive formation and lineup and played not to get beaten. Though it wasn’t attractive, it worked, and given that Malaysia have a fantastic home record and are unbeaten in their borders for over two years, parking the bus ground out a good result.
Against Indonesia the Philippines dominated and really should have won the game. Indonesia had three shots on target and scored twice so they more than rode their luck, but the Azkals came back and their effort made sure that they did not lose.
Picking up draws against both Suzuki Cup finalists is still a good achievement overall and being able to pick up a result when needed, forcing a much-needed draw to be specific, could be vital in a tournament – see Chelsea in the Champions League this year.
Depth in midfieldOne particular highlight of the friendlies was the depth in midfield the Azkals now possess. Choosing any lineup must be somewhat of a headache for Coach Weiss who has Chieffy Caligdong and the promising Jeffrey Christiaens on the left, Misagh Bahadoran and James Younghusband on the right, while Angel Guirado can play on either side.
The center of midfield is truly stacked though, as Jerry Lucena, Manny Ott, Stephan Schröck, Lexton Moy, Jason De Jong, Paul Mulders, Marwin Angeles and the returning Anto Gonzales all vie for a place in the middle of the park – and all are good options.
Manny Ott’s driving runs and work-rate showed his potential and at twenty years old he has yet to reach his peak. Playing fourth-tier football in Germany, should he fail to make it big in his birth country, he would be well received by a number of UFL teams. He also has two younger brothers who are in the youth side of second tier-team TSV 1860 Munich, so there could well be another future set of brothers in the Philippine National side.
Stephan Schröck, meanwhile, clearly showed why he is so highly touted. If he’s available, the Azkals will have a world class midfielder, the envy of every other South East Asian side.
Should he not be available though, there are a large number of other options and in fact, fans’ biggest criticism of the three friendlies was that they didn’t see enough of those other options.
No confidence in the bench?In previous matches' press conferences Coach Weiss has bemoaned the lack of depth on the bench.
While in past lineups some players were guaranteed starters, few of the starting eleven should be assured of a place now. Even Neil Etheridge was disappointed to find himself in the dugout watching the first half of the game against Indonesia as Roland Müller was rewarded for a good performance against Malaysia with a place in the starting eleven.
However the German Coach still seems unwilling to make changes during a match. Winning 3-0 against Guam at half time, it took until the 69th minute to make the first substitution. Four changes were made, in all, but with less than twenty minutes to make an impact it’s difficult for any player to prove their worth.
Playing against weak opposition though, is the perfect opportunity to test young players such as OJ Clarino and Patrick Deyto who were in the squad, while Ian Araneta had the perfect motivation for the game, playing in front of his own home crowd.
The need for clinical finishingOne potential worry was the inability of several Azkals to finish good opportunities. Failing to create a clear-cut chance in Malaysia, the Azkals dominated the first half against Indonesia but couldn’t hit the back of the net, with Angel Guirado in particular missing several golden opportunities in the air while Denis Wolf dragged a couple of shots wide.
In the second half, their first equalizer was a gift, as James Younghusband intercepted a terrible pass from Satrio Syam, which gave the Loyola winger a one-on-one chance, while the second was a well-worked set piece from a nicely delivered Cagara free-kick - the problem being Cagara’s availability during the European season.
Meanwhile in Guam neither Phil Younghusband nor Denis Wolf were on target. Angel Guirado made up for his misses against Indonesia with two well-taken goals while Carli De Murga grabbed the other. Phil Younghusband forced Dallas Jaye into a couple of solid stops while Wolf particularly missed several very good chances and the Azkals’ seventeen shots should have led to more goals against a weak Guam side.
A lesser-tried combination of Angel Guirado and Phil Younghusband up front may now be a very attractive option as both forwards on their day can win games while their combination of height and speed would do well as a target man and poacher combination.
With just three shots in total against Malaysia, then fifteen against Indonesia and seventeen against Guam, the Azkals scored five goals from thirty five attempts. Against tougher opposition in the Suzuki Cup the Azkals will need to be on target to qualify from the group stage again.
Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines all have a chance of winning the competition. Goals will be needed against the top class opposition with at least two of those teams definitely not reaching the semifinals.
Without question, this year’s Suzuki Cup may be the most competitive one yet, and whether or not the Azkals can put into practice what they picked up from their trilogy of friendlies, remains to be seen. - AMD, GMA News
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