Looking at the Azkals' 1-0 Suzuki Cup win over Singapore

MANILA, Philippines – It is ironic how things have changed since 2010 when the Philippines was deemed to “park the bus” and hit on the counter attack while Singapore was a dynamic force. 

The Philippines’ program has been on the upswing with quality players called up to replace the retired. On the other hand, since Singapore won the Suzuki Cup in 2012, they have not replaced the now-retired Aleksandar Duric at the striker position or even approximate Shahril Ishak, Mohammad Amri or Hameed Fazrul.

And it should be noted that Singapore has had a tough time defeating the Philippines since 2010. The last time they convincingly defeated the Philippines in Suzuki Cup play was that 3-nil hiding during the 1996 edition of the tournament. The next time they faced each other was 2010 where they battled to a 1-1 draw thanks to a stoppage-time goal by Chris Greatwich and two draws since. They battled to a scoreless draw in the first leg of the semis of the 2012 edition at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium, after which Amri scored early in a 1-nil second leg win at Jalan Besar Stadium in Singapore.

The two nations met again in a scoreless draw during the 2016 tourney at the Philippine Arena. 

If anything, the Philippines can be bullish on defense at home, but more so dynamic on offense.

As expected, new manager Sven-Goran Eriksson opted for his pragmatic 4-4-2 while his new counterpart in Singapore Fandi Ahmad opted for a more conservative 4-4-1-1 

Resorting to the old physical tactic

Time was an opponent that didn’t need to play physical as their talent and cohesion simply overwhelmed the Philippines. Not so since 2010. There is quality up and down the pitch with a premium on speed and clever midfield play. 

The tackles and extra motions disrupted the Azkals’ attack. Singapore swarmed on defense for the first 15-plus minutes and eventually stopped Mike Ott’s crosses. Stephan Schrock looked flustered as he was repeatedly knocked down. 

The physical game by Singapore resulted in two yellow cards (and in my opinion, they should have had at least two more) and for much of the first half, seemingly disjointed play for both sides. 

The second half saw a more spirited effort by the Philippines. Both the adjustments and a sense of desperation (a need to gain points in its home stand before taking on some of the tournament favorites). Singapore resorted to physical play that once more disrupted the flow.

It took a superb throw in from Martin Steuble, two touches — a header by James Younghusband to his brother Phil, whose nifty flick to Patrick Reichelt allowed him to scramble past the defense to fire past Hassan Sunny for the match-winning goal. 

Solid defense by the Philippines

Gotta love that back four that initially featured Luke Woodland (then replaced by Daisuke Sato who came in and made an impact), Carli De Murga, Paul Mulders and Martin Steuble and the midfielders who scrambled back on defense. And then you have a superb goalkeeper in Neil Etheridge. 

They left Singapore with no shots on goal and six off target. 

While we mentioned Singapore swarming on defense, I liked the Azkals’ willingness to try and recover lost balls. A 59 percent pass accuracy for the Lions as opposed to the 72 percent of the Azkals? Simply superb. You can shoot much when you can’t pass the ball.

The defense on both sides made it difficult to slip that ball into the final third. The Philippines had to make do with shots from outside the box that tested Hassan. It was Reichelt’s sortie that was the only one successful enough to evade the Lions’ defense.

Superb subs from Sven-Goran Eriksson

When Woodland went down after a poor tackle by a Singapore player, Dasuke Sato came in and provided an impact. Ditto with James Younghusband, who nearly scored as well. You can even say that sending in Curt Dizon for Phil Younghusband with seconds to play was a nice move to give the Azkals time to marshal their defense for one last Singapore play. 

What can be improved?

I am sure that the Azkals had their own game plan and Singapore’s patient and physical defense disrupted that. I believe that the best way to counter that type of play is to move that ball up faster and to release it immediately. 

I think they should constantly test the opposing defense with quick attacks and firing when there is that chance. 

We expected Singapore to be bullish on both ends. And the Philippines never gave up and the result was well-deserved. Bravo! Good job.

Now on to Timor Leste.