Azkals settle for a draw in a frustrating night in Phnom Penh

A lack of clinical finishing in front of goal, combined with an awful pitch and heavy rains had the Philippines’ Azkals settle for a scoreless draw with Cambodia, 0-0.   Away from home, the Azkals began in a more conservative formation, with Jerry Lucena anchoring the midfield in front of Jeffrey Christiaens, Jason Sabio, Rob Gier, and Carli De Murga at the back. Further ahead of him, Paul Mulders and Marwin Angeles played more advanced roles with Chieffy Caligdong and James Younghusband on the wings.   Cambodia, meanwhile, had a very young squad on the pitch with their oldest players only 27 years old.   First Half   Cambodia didn’t offer any real threat up front with only speculative long shots in the opening stages of the game. The Azkals, meanwhile, threatened first when Paul Mulders crossed in for Phil Younghusband on the 13th minute in what may have been the best chance of the match.   Taking a good first touch, Cambodia was almost left to rue their poor marking, but Younghusband failed to increase his 25-goal tally for the Azkals as he blasted just wide of the goal from ten yards out.   With the pitch proving to be a problem for any passes, the Azkals began hitting it longer. In the 21st minute Jerry Lucena's long free-kick was hit over the bar by Phil Younghusband before the next chance saw his brother James cross deep to the far post but Cambodian goalkeeper Sou Taty tipped the ball away before Phil could reach it. From the corner Jason Sabio rose and headed at goal but it bounced back off the bar.   Meanwhile, Cambodia showed their counter attacking prowess moments later playing a good through ball to their forward who sped past Rob Gier. Gier recovered excellently, though, with a strong sliding challenge to prevent a shot.   The Azkals went back on the attack soon after and James Younghusband won a free-kick in the 33rd minute, but his brother Phil stepped up for an attempt that just curled wide.   The next ten minutes were taken up with Sou Yaty on the floor after a whack on his chin from one of the Azkals, as James Younghusband found Chieffy Caligdong in space but the Airman only managed to shoot into the Cambodian keeper’s arms from 20 yards out.   Before half-time, James Younghusband picked up a yellow card for dissent. Having seen the keeper come out to punch again, Lucena attempted a long shot but his shot continued to rise and missed the goal, with Younghusband arguing a bit too forcefully that it should have been a corner.   Just before the whistle, Rob Gier again made a sliding tackle as the last man to stop a fluid Cambodian counter attack.    Second Half   The half-time break saw Jason De Jong and Patrick Reichelt come on in place of Rob Gier and Jerry Lucena. De Jong replaced Gier in the center of the defense while Reichelt took the right wing as James Younghusband moved to attacking midfielder.   Pouncing on the transition in the changes, Cambodia were the first to threaten with a wonderful through ball found Khim Borey bearing down on goal. Shepherded the whole way, his shot was tame in the end.   Soon after, the Azkals had a counter attack of their own as substitute Reichelt beat his man and bore down on goal in the 57th minute, yet with a clear sight of goal he chose to pass rather than shoot.   The decision turned out to be the wrong one as his chipped cross was far off anyone else and the keeper collected the return ball back in.   The keeper at the other end, Neil Etheridge, almost turned the game on its head moments later. Receiving a backpass, he sliced it into the air and he casually looked for it in the sky as it fell back down into the path of a Cambodian forward.   Fortunately for Etheridge and the Philippines, the striker’s first touch may have kept the ball in play but it ultimately led into Etheridge’s grateful arms in a heart-stopping moment.   Phil Younghusband then made way for Ian Araneta in the Azkals’ third substitution. Reichelt had the next opportunity, stepping over the ball and beating his marker to cut inside on his left, but the ball bobbled up and his shot was tame.   Weiss made another change in the 70th minute as Anto Gonzales came on to replace James Younghusband in the center, and the number of substitutions, including a broader range of personnel, will at least be welcomed by fans.   Denis Wolf, another substitute, almost broke the deadlock next. His effort from 20 yards out dragged along the floor, but it was problematic for the goalkeeper as rain was lashing down. Sou Yaty misjudged the shot but managed to deflect it wide, though in truth it could have gone anywhere.   A minute later, Wolf again had a chance to score as Mulders played him in, but Wolf’s powerful shot flew just past the upright. Misagh Bahadoran, meanwhile, took to the pitch to replace captain Chieffy Caligdong.   Into the 81st minute, OJ Porteria then took to the pitch for Paul Mulders, showing a new-found trust Weiss seems to have in his bench. However, the last ten minutes were characterized more by players slipping over as in the span of ten seconds, three players hit the deck due to the heavy rains on a bad pitch.   Reichelt had another good chance at goal with only two minutes of normal time remaining.   Receiving a pass, he dribbled beyond two defenders and clipped the ball at goal. The keeper could only look on as the ball skimmed off the surface and bounced back off the upright. Clearly frustrated, Reichelt chased down the ball and hacked his man down from behind, earning himself a yellow card before the final whistle.   On to Singapore   This performance will be little encouragement, though, ahead of the clash with Singapore this Friday, September 7.    Weiss and Palami will still be at the helm against Singapore with their pending disciplinary cases now on appeal, and in Singpaore the pitch will be far better.   Looking ahead, the return of Stephan Schröck to the Azkals lineup may be the biggest boost.    The Azkals will need to step up to show how much they’ve improved in recent years and prove to everyone why they belong in the top three of South East Asian football. – RAF/ELR, GMA News