The Philippine Azkals and the Cambodian Football Club played under a heavy downpour of rain that even prompted the game to a temporary halt. But rain wasn’t the only thing that came pouring down during the Asian Football Cup qualifiers match last night as the
Philippine Azkals also poured down an offensive onslaught of eight goals to nil (8-0) over the visiting Cambodian booters.
The Philippine Azkals, who’re currently having their strongest lineup so far, with additions of Fil- Spanish striker Javier Patiño, and the returning forward Stephan Schrock, showed that they’re not all hype – or bark.
The Philippine football team handled most of the possessions and controlled the tempo of the game when it hit the 25th minute mark when they finally figured a way to crack the pesky defense of our South East Asian neighbors. From that point on, it was all
Azkals, leaving the Cambodian squad helpless on just defending and was unable to set up their pace. Leading the charge was Azkals’ forward Phil Younghusband who scored an impressive four goals over the defense of the visiting Cambodians. Younghusband picked up his first goal as he scored from close range off a pass from right-back Carli de Murga. Six minutes later, he scored again, off a curling shot that swished through the defense of Cambodia’s goalkeeper Samreth Seiha. He then completed the hat trick when he scored with a header three minutes after. Yes, that fast.
Joining the offensive fray was the debuting Patiño, whose mother is Filipina, when he put in a goal in the wading minutes of the first half. And as soon as the second half started, the returning “Schrocky” from Bundesliga, Stephan Shrock, opened up the half with his
own long range curling shot that went through the net and made the Cambodians cringe even more.
Patiño then showed the crowd what to expect further with his addition to the team as he scored another goal during the 57th canto. Phil Younghusband, on the other hand, wasn’t finished even after getting his first international hat-trick as he scored another one, proving he’s a one-man scoring machine with his four-goal effort.
Carli de Murga capped off the scoring party when he scored the Azkals’ eighth goal before the second half’s stoppage time.
But it was really not all good news.
With the heavy rain flooding the Rizal Memorial Stadium’s pitch, it created a number of puddles that made the playing field hard to play with. The flooded pitch caused a lot of difficulty with both teams as they pushed through a muddy and puddle-filled field. Some
passes were getting misdirected and shots were getting slows down all thanks to the mud and the flood water that dawdles down the shots momentum.
The Philippine Azkals are hoping to get their second straight victory and get their sweet revenge over the Turkmenistan National Football team on Tuesday. The Turks defeated the Azkals last year with a 2-1 lead that nabbed the Philippine Football team a chance to play for the Challenge Cup.
Kick-off starts at 7:30 P.M.
