MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine football team, also known as the “Azkals”, is looking to bounce back from their 1-0 loss to Indonesia when they face off again in the 2nd leg of the 2010 ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Suzuki Cup semifinals on Sunday.
The team’s British coach, Simon McMenemy, maintained that they will stick to their tried and tested game when they play again in front of a hostile Indon crowd at the Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta, Indonesia.
“I don’t think we need to change anything,” the Azkal mentor said in an interview in ANC’s The Rundown.
McMenemy admitted the team had a hard time communicating with the noise generated by the 80,000 Indonesian spectators who watch last Thursday’s game.
“We're sitting in the bench, the coaching staff trying to talk to each other. We had to sit within a foot from each other and shout at the top of our voices to get our voice across. It was unbelievably difficult,” he said.
But he is confident that the Azkals will make adjustments as far as the crowd noise is concerned.
“The boys are aware of the issue, getting a little bit of experience, knowing from where were going into the game. There has to be some way of trying to be aware of what's around us. We'll have a little discussion about that. But as far as the natural tactic of the game, I think we're playing very well,” said MacMenemy.
Team members Phil Younghusband and Neil Etheridge shared their coach’s view about their chances in the 2nd leg.
Younghusband, one of the most active strikers of the team, admitted that the team was disappointed by the loss to Indonesia. This, however, doesn’t mean they are surrendering the fight.
“I had two goal attempts in the first half. Some days they go in, some days they don't... we're very disappointed that we lost the game but like coach said there is still a long way to go,” he said.
He added that their opponents’ hometown advantage is not something new to them.
“We did it against Vietnam, the reigning champion. We're confident that we can do it here, as well,” said Younghusband.
Etheridge, for his part, said the team has learned from their mistakes in the 1st leg.
It was a miscommunication between goalie Etheridge and fullback Ray Jonsson that allowed Indon striker Cristiano Gonzales to score Indonesia’s solitary goal in the 1st leg.
“I hope that it will make me stronger,” said Etheridge. “lt's important that in the 2nd leg that we can come out stronger.”
Based on the away-goals rule, the Azkals can still win the tie and advance to the final if they score at least twice in the 2nd leg and limit Indonesia to only 1 goal.
from affsuzukicup.com
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