RAMPAGING FULLBACK | 5 things we learned from the Azkals’ rousing win over Yemen
The Philippine national men’s football team’s impressive start to its 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers campaign continued with a lively 2-0 victory over Yemen Wednesday morning in Manila.
Hoping to sustain momentum from the impressive 2-1 win over Bahrain, the Azkals made two changes to its starting lineup — Misagh Bahadoran coming in for the injured Stephan Schrock and Luke Woodland finally making his debut after getting clearance from FIFA.
An entertaining first half saw both teams unable to take their chances, as it ended 0-0 after 45 minutes, with Manny Ott closest to breaking the deadlock at the 37th minute.
Another remarkable second half performance from the Azkals would see them take a 2-0 lead after 74 minutes to see off the Yemeni challenge, with Man of the Match Misagh Bahadoran and Iain Ramsay getting on the score sheet.
After two matches, the Azkals lie in second place in Group H, just behind early leaders North Korea on goal difference.
Here are five things we learned from the Azkals victory.
1. Misagh Bahadoran is on fire
Two goals from two games are not bad returns by any means for a striker, but for someone like Misagh who has been consistently inconsistent the past few seasons, those two goals against Bahrain and Yemen must have felt like cold water on a hot Manila day.
Once dubbed derisively as “Lord Misagh” when he struggled to put in a good shift for the national team, Bahadoran has now become nothing short of a cult icon among fans.
The Man of the Match performance against Yemen has everybody drooling over his form –– and has everybody queuing up LGR offices for a #9 Lord Misagh Azkals shirt.
Schrock’s injury has gone largely unnoticed and is due in large part to the Global FC team captain who has shown tremendous improvement and maturity in recent months.
2. Javier Patino is not just ‘Patigol,’ he is also ‘Pati-assist’
InterAksyon.com/Ver Marquez
InterAksyon.com/Ver Marquez
That Azkals striker Javier Patiño can score goals in bundles has never been in doubt; fans have seen him score for his club teams Buriram United and Henan Jiaye.
That Patiño can also dish out quality assists was perhaps not something most fans were aware of. Against Yemen, he not only displayed his usual attacking verve to lead the attack but also showed fans another dimension of his game by giving out two passes that led to two Azkals goals.
At the 52nd minute, he combined with Bahadoran who unleashed an unstoppable shot. At the 74th minute, a very quick Azkals counterattack saw Patiño break on the right side. The Filipino-Spanish quickly found the onrushing Iain Ramsay for the Azkals’ second goal.
3. Azkals not relying just on Phil Younghusband
The days of Phil Younghusband carrying the scoring workload all of the Azkals by himself seem to be over.
The return of Javier Patiño to assume the No. 9 role has allowed Younghusband to drop deeper in midfield, where he can cut a more influential figure on the pitch.
The emergence of Bahadoran and Rmsay has eased the burden on the Azkals’ all-time leading goal scorer — Phil can still bang in the goals, but now he has more help.
The last two Azkals victories came with Younghusband not needing to be on the score sheet. If anything, it bodes well for Philippine football that the team is getting more help in the scoring department.
4. Spare a thought for Yemen
The Philippines can certainly relate.
Very much like the Azkals in the 2010 Suzuki Cup, Yemen has been forced to play their home matches away from their capital city of Sana’a but for totally different reasons.
War in the country has entailed that Yemen play their home matches in Doha, Qatar which is normally a two hour plane ride away. With turmoil in the region, the team was forced to forego air travel and had to ride a boat.
The Indian Express writes: “With the country involved in a bloody war with Saudi Arabia, Yemen’s national team head Husam Al Sanabani said they were left with no other option but to travel by sea.”
“It’s a treacherous stretch of water that has already been braved by thousands since the war began. But the long detour meant they first had to undertake the 13-hour boat journey to Djibouti, followed by a five-hour flight from the tiny African nation to Doha.”
“We had three options. Flights were not possible as the airports are shut. It was unsafe to cross the border by road as there is constant firing. So the only option left for us was to travel by sea. It was a dangerous route and the players were brave enough to accept our suggestion,” Yemen national team head Husam Al Sanabani said as quoted by the Indian Express.
To make matters worse, they have no idea how they will return to their homeland. After all that Yemen has been through, it is already a minor miracle that they are able to play and compete on the field.
All of these factors make Yemen a dangerous side to come up against, with the extra motivation they certainly have to perform.
The Azkals came away with a 2-0 victory, but look to find most neutrals rooting for Yemen if turmoil there remains unresolved.
5. New guys did well for the Azkals
Somewhat lost in all the excitement about Bahadoran and Patiño were the Azkals debuts of Iain Ramsay, Stephen Palla, Luke Woodland, Dennis Villanueva and Kevin Ingreso.
Ramsay took over the number 7 shirt from James Younghusband and did justice to the shirt as he capped off a brilliant display with his first international goal for the team.
Palla is listed as a defender, but he was given a more forward role for the Azkals as he ably supported the attack.
Woodland’s clearance papers came through in time for the game against Yemen. And on the field the 19-year-old was as good as advertised, putting in a solid performance at centerback in a three man defense.
Villanueva’s excellent performances for club side Global FC were rewarded with a call-up to the national while Ingreso made his much-awaited debut, albeit with time winding down on the clock.
It will not be our last time to see these new faces; many hope they will represent the country for a long time to come.
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