Philippine Azkals 4:3 Palestine

 

The Azkals held on to claim third place in the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup. The match was tense up until the final whislte with the opponents threatening to equalize at any moment. The Azkals' defense ws still flawed and allowed goals in three occasions with the Palestinians not even bothering to change their penetration strategy.

The Azkals were drained and seemed very tired in the final 10 minutes where it felt like they were scrambling to keep the lead.  An impressive run in the tournament could actually have been better since the team almost made it to the finals. In the semi-final match last week, the Azkals led for 80 mins before the defense collapsed and two goals were allowed in for them to lose the match against Turkmenistan and set up a battle for third with Palestine.

The series of bad calls and yellow/red cards also affected the team in the previous games most notable of which are Angel Guirado and Neil Etheridge.

Phil Younghusband however, was able to shine and looks set to claim the golden boot of the competition. The third win for a Filipino player in as many years if it happens. A very impressive event indeed. There is much to look forward to in Philippine football. Stay tuned for more updates!.