MANILA – Philippine Azkals surrendered a goal in the final minutes and settled for a 1-1 draw with Bahrain in a FIFA international friendly on Friday at the Bahrain National Stadium.
The outcome was still a welcome sight for the Azkals under new head coach Scott Cooper. The Philippine team suffered a 1-3 loss to Bahrain in their previous friendly in 2016.
The Azkals got good chances at the goal early in the game and nearly scored in the 16th minute on a Manuel Ott corner kick but this was defended well by the Bahraini goalkeeper.
Bahrain also nearly got the edge in the 37th minute with a counterattack, which paved the way for Rashid Jamal to have a shot on the goal at the edge of the box, but this sailed just wide.
The Azkals finally entered the scoring column four minutes into the second half with a spot up shot from veteran Phil Younghusband for his 51st international goal for the Philippines.
Bahrain had chances to equalize, including an 86th-minute attempt that was foiled by Carli de Murga after Azkals’ goalkeeper Neil Etheridge went out of line for a fumbled save.
The Bahrainis finally tallied its first goal in the waning minutes as they capitalized on an open goal right before the final whistle blew.
The Azkals-Bahrain friendly was part of the Philippine men’s football team’s preparations for the Suzuki Cup later this year and the Asian Cup in United Arab Emirates next year./PN
