Azkals shock Bahrain in Manama

The Philippine National Football team sent a strong message to the Middle Eastern squads, forcing former FIFA Most Improved Team Bahrain to a 0-0 draw, in Manama on Saturday. Bahrain is at the 115th place in the current FIFA world rankings, 32 spots higher than the Philippines at the 147th spot. The home squad enjoyed its top rating in September 2004 at 44th place, while the Philippine rankings is currently at its highest. The Azkals had Roland Muller manning the goal this time around, while Paul Mulders joined Denis Wolf up ahead. Chieffy Caligdong, Marwin Angeles, and Patrick Reichelt welcomed Jerry Lucena back in the midfield, while Ray Jonsson, Rob Gier, Dennis Cagara, and Juani Guirado anchored the Philippine defense. The visiting team matched the intensity of the home team in the first half, with Wolf getting an early chance at goal. The 2012 Peace Cup Golden Boot awardee only had Bahrain's keeper to beat, but the shot bounced of the latter. At the 28th minute, the Philippines got another chance, as an interception led to Caligdong sending Wolf a cross from the left flank. Wolf went for a header, but it sailed high for another missed opportunity. The Azkals did not let up, as Wolf again had another one-on-one opportunity with the keeper. This time around, Bahrain was lucky to have its keeper deflect the shot with his right foot. In the second half, Bahrain came out more aggressive  A corner for the home team found the crowd in the middle, but Muller soared high to retrieve it for the Azkals. At the 61st minute, a faulty clearance by Guirado led to a Bahraini player being open in the middle, but the attempt was unsuccessful still. At the 71st minute, Misagh Bahadoran tried to make something off the right flank, tapping it to Wolf in the middle who stumbled to the ground. Substitutions started to come for the Philippines, as Coach Michael Weiss sent in Jeff Christiaens and Matthew Uy to replace Chieffy Caligdong and Jerry Lucena, respectfully. In the last ten minutes, 18-year-old Fil-Am OJ Porteria came in for Wolf. Porteria had a clear shot at the 89th minute after getting a feed from Bahadoran, but the ground ball went straight to the keeper. The Philippines play Kuwait next on Tuesday, as Younghusband brothers Phil and James return to join the squad. Upon the team's return to the Philippines, they will prepare for the second leg of their series against Singapore before they head on to Bangkok to play Thailand and Vietnam in the 2012 Suzuki Cup. — ELR/AMD, GMA News