MANILA, Philippines — For two-thirds of the way, the debuting Philippine Azkals did the impossible as they held mighty Korea Republic to a scoreless stalemate in the AFC Asian Cup.
But the gutsy Filipino booters couldn’t complete the job as the highly fancied Taeguk Warriors eventually tore through their defensive wall and went away with a narrow 1-0 victory last night in the Group C opener at Al Maktoum Stadium in Dubai.
Hwang Uijio spoiled what had been a tremendous defensive stand by the gritty Azkals as he scored off a delivery from Hwang Hee-chan in a clinical attack initiated by Lee Yong and Lee Chungyong at the 67th minute.
Phl will now try to get a better result on Friday when they face China over in Abu Dhabi. The Chinese rallied past Kyrgyz Republic, 2-1, in the other Group C encounter last night.
Playing in their first ever match in Asia’s premier tourney, the Azkals showed heart and guts and held their ground in the first 45 minutes, energized by chants of “Pi-li-pi-nas” from the compatriots at the stadium.
The Phl backline led by Alvaro Silva, Stephan Palla and Luke Woodland and keeper Michael Falkesgaard anchored a rock-solid defense that frustrated the Korean strike force early on while Javi Patino, the man at the tip of the Azkals’ formation, threatened with a volley that was saved by Kim Seunggyu.
Tirelessly striving to gain relevance internationally, former minnow Phl XI pulled through with its best achievement so far – qualification to the Continent’s premier tournament – and hoped to make further history by getting past the group stage despite the loss to Korea.
“This is the biggest competition we can play. There are 24 teams in this competition for the first time, it’s like a football party and we have this opportunity to change things for Philippine football,” said Sven Goran Eriksson in an intervew with Gulf News earlier.
After China on Jan. 11, the Azkals are slated to face off with fellow debutant Kyrgyz Republic on Jan. 16.
“We have a team that has never been on this stage before so that is very good for the whole country, the squad, and everybody,” said the veteran mentor, who once called the shots for England in the Fifa World Cup.