Goalless Stalemate Between Philippine Azkals and Chinese Taipei
Younghusband was getting some special attention from Chinese Taipei’s central defenders; so it made sense for him to move to the right flank for his enterprise. He was sent clear in the 14th minute and sent in a low cross; but Ian Araneta, who had taken over the more central role, tumbled over just as the cross was sent in.
A minute later, Caligdong’s increasing confidence and value to the team was evident as he took on two Chinese Taipei players to try to get in a cross. The trickery was lovely to watch; but the cross, in the end, was poor.
By this time, however, Chinese Taipei was growing in confidence as the Philippines started to fade. Whereas the former struggled to create anything of note in the first quarter of the game, now its players were starting to get more shots on target. There was the little matter, however, of a certain Roland Mueller.
The Filipino-German, standing in for Neil Etheridge in the Philippine goal, fielded shot after shot by Chinese Taipei with admirable confidence. Although not as physically imposing as Etheridge, Mueller has the same safe hands and the same vision for a good pass.
The second half degenerated almost into a non-event as Chinese Taipei bossed possession without really creating anything that even ruffled Mueller’s feathers. For the Philippines, the makeshift partnership of Angel Guirado and Matthew Hartmann in the middle had the necessary physique to keep out Chinese Taipei’s players; but neither had the creativity to propagate a free-flowing passing game.
Still, the direct Philippines’ approach had its moments. In the 61st minute, Phil Younghusband set up the left-sided Jeff Christiaens, who had come in for the injured Caligdong, with a chance. The shot was wide.
Mueller was called on to make just one more save the 79th minute when Chinese Taipei played a long ball out of defence. The save was routine as the Chinese resorted to gamesmanship to see the rest of the game through.
Hong Kong, which routed Macau 5-1 in the day’s first game, heads the four-team table with 4 points and a better goal difference over Chinese Taipei. The Philippines has two points after drawing its first two matches; although its last match is arguably the easiest of all on Tuesday against Macau.
The draw was, naturally, a disappointment for the Philippines. However, even with a heavily experimental formation and playing against the home side, it never really looked like conceding a goal. Never mind Chinese Taipei’s shots-on-target statistic; Mueller was too good to lose sleep over any of these.
There is all to play for on Tuesday, then. The best results as far as we are concerned will be a draw between Chinese Taipei and Hong Kong and a huge win by the Philippines over Macau to boost our goal difference. At any rate, what this whole tournament shows all of us is that we have to have one of our own soon. Am I just being such a bighead these days or is it really such a bore to watch a match played in a near-empty stadium?
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