Peace Cup: Azkals outclass Chinese Taipei for first international crown in 99 years

The 99 year drought is over. The Philippines won its first international football tournament after 99 years as the Azkals repelled a determined Chinese Taipei, 3-1, in their final match of the 2012 Philippine Peace Cup at the Rizal Memorial Stadium on Saturday. The Azkals were victorious after racking up nine points from victories over Guam, Macau, and Chinese Taipei. The last time the Philippines won in an international tournament was in 1913, when they were declared champions at the Far Eastern Games, the earlier version of the Asian Games. It is also the first time that the Philippines has won over Chinese Taipei after seven tries. The Philippines leaned on the strong offensive showing of Denis Wolf, Chieffy Caligdong, and OJ Porteria, who scored at the 10th, 34th, and the 43rd minute, respectively. The first Azkals goal came early, as a Carli De Murga attempt that was deflected by keeper Pan Wen Chieh rolled fortuitously towards Wolf who shot the follow-up dead on. At the 34th minute, a defensive lapse by the visitors led to a Caligdong interception. The Airman found himself free in the middle for the Philippines' second goal of the match. Before the halftime whistle, it was OJ Porteria's turn to take advantage of the weak Chinese-Taipei clearances, as he played the passing lane for his first international goal to make it 3-0. The visitors were more aggressive in the second half, but the consistent push forward only yielded one goal from Chang Han at the 51st minute. However, the match then had to endure five minutes of stoppage, as the head of the Chinese-Taipei delegation got into a heated argument over a non-call at the 58th minute, when Demitrius Omphroy challenged an attacking Chang Han who ended up sprawled on the pitch. Things were in danger of getting ugly as officials tired to eject the Chinese-Taipei coach, but he refused to leave. The crowd got into it and started to jeer.  Finally, the match announcer got on the public address system and pleaded with offcials, teams, and the spectators to "please respect the Peace Cup and remain calm while the situation is being resolved." The near altercation resulted in eight minutes being added to regulation time. But all was for naught as Chines-Taipei was unable to use the time to score a goal. The closest they got was a penalty kick due to a challenge by Jason De Jong. But Ed Sacapano made up for an earlier miscue as he deflected the shot to keep the Philippines ahead by two. So, in the end it was a Philippine victory. Macau received the third runner-up prize with one point, Guam went on to get the second runner-up prize with three points, while Chinese Taipei was declared first runner-up with four points. Ed Sacapano was declared best keeper after allowing only one goal in three games. Best defender was Jeff Christaens, Matthew Uy won best midfielder, while Denis Wolf received the Golden Boot and the Most Valuable Player awards after scoring four goals in the tournament. The Fair Play Award went to the Philippine team, as well. Next up for the Azkals is the 2012 AFF Suzuki Cup, where the Philippines play host team Thailand on November 24th and Vietnam on the 27th. - AMD/DVM, GMA News