MANILA – Philippine Azkals showed their defensive might in the second half and forced Oman to a 1-1 draw during their FIFA international friendly in Doha, Qatar.
Debuting goalkeeper Michael Falkesgaard had an impressive showing for the Scott Cooper-mentored Philippine team, tallying five crucial saves in the second half.
The outcome was much to be desired for the Azkals – it was their best showing against a top 100-ranked squad since their 1-0 win over Kyrgyzstan in November 2016.
But the Azkals did not get the start they wanted in the Saturday night match (Sunday in Manila), conceding a conversion to Oman’s Raed Saleh in the eighth minute after a botched clearance by Neil Etheridge.
The Azkals attempted several times to equalize but to no avail until they got a lucky break in the 39th minute when Oman’s forward Khaledal Hajri committed an own goal violation.
It was in the second half when the Azkals became aggressive as they had multiple attempts to surge courtesy of Javier Patino and Amin Nazari. Still, they failed to penetrate Oman’s defense.
At the same time the Azkals made it difficult for Oman. Falkesgaard was their force inside the goal as he thwarted close-range attempts from Mohsin Khaled and Hajri.
The friendly was the first time in 17 years that the 114th-ranked Azkals tangled with Oman, which were 85th in the latest FIFA rankings. The Philippines lost in their last two encounters 0-2 and 0-7.
The Azkals used the friendly as part of their preparation for the 2018 AFF Suzuki Cup later this year and the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019./PN
