MANILA – Philippine Azkals got past a tough challenge from host Bangladesh for a 1-0 win in the 2018 Bangabandhu Gold Cup at the Sylhet Zila Stadium in Bangladesh.
A first-half conversion by Kenshiro Daniels was all the Philippine men’s football team needed Friday night to claim the top spot in Group B with 6 points and a 2-0 win-loss record.
Both teams were unable to penetrate each other’s defense, making for a scoreless match after 20 minutes. The Azkals finally scored in the 24th minute with Daniels slotting from inside the box.
Azkals goalkeeper Michael Casas also did a masterful job at thwarting the attempts of Bangladesh players from close range, leaving the scores 1-0 heading into halftime break.
Bangladesh turned aggressive early in the second half but Casas was on point in denying their attempts. The home team nearly scored from close range in the 70th minutes but this was defended well, too.
Things got a bit messy for the Philippines in the 75th minute: Marwin Angeles was tackled by an opponent while Misagh Bahadoran was handed a yellow card for fouling the other team’s goalie.
And then it got worse – the Azkals were down to 10 men with nine minutes remaining in the match after Daniels was stretchered off the field after a hard collision with a Bangladeshi player.
Despite being undermanned, the Azkals still worked well to stave off late attempts by the home team.
The Azkals have a three-day break before plunging back to action Tuesday night for the knockout semifinal round./PN
