Azkals concede late goal in thriller as Taiwan escapes
MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Azkals suffered a heartbreaking 3-2 defeat as they fell to the visiting Taiwan in an international friendly match on Monday, June 19, at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.
A late goal by second-half substitute Lin Ming-wei in the 90th minute lifted Taiwan to victory, dashing the Philippines’ bid to end its two-game friendly homestand undefeated following a 1-0 win over Nepal last June 15.
Wu Yen-shu opened the scoring early with a second-minute goal off a wonderful free kick to put Taiwan on top before the Azkals equalized 11 minutes later as midfielder Mike Ott converted a penalty kick.
Wang Ruei pushed off Ott during a tussle for the ball inside the box, resulting in the referee blowing the whistle and rewarding the Philippines a penalty.
It was a quick redemption for Ott as he was slightly responsible for Taiwan’s opening goal because Wu’s free kick deflected off him before it curled past Azkals goalkeeper Neil Etheridge.
At the 39th mark, the Philippines seized the upper hand as Patrick Reichelt brilliantly chipped the ball past Taiwan goalkeeper Pan Wen-Chieh for a 2-1 advantage.
Taiwan soon found its own equalizer as Yu Yao-hsing slotted in Wang Geon-Myeong’s cross from the right wing in the 58th minute.
The match seemed to be headed to a draw before Lin found the back of the net before the final whistle.
Returning Azkals head coach Hans Michael Weiss continued to opt with a back four as he started Jesse Curran, Enrique Linares, Carli de Murga, and Daisuke Sato to form the team’s defense.
Patrick Deyto, the Man of the Match versus Nepal, did not see action as Weiss decided to rotate and play 33-year-old Etheridge for the full 90 minutes.
The entire Azkals backline was stunned inside the first two minutes, but the team recovered quickly as it went into the break with a 2-1 lead.
Both teams made a single substitution before the second half started as the Philippines’ Jarvey Gayoso made way for youngster Gio Pabualan, while Taiwan’s Lin Chang-lun entered the pitch for Emilio Estevez Tsai.
After Yu’s equalizer in the 58th minute, the Azkals had a decent chance to regain the lead in the 64th minute but second-half substitute Hikaru Minigishi’s shot was comfortably saved by Pan.
Nine minutes later, it was Etheridge’s turn to save a shot as he parried away a long-range attempt by a Taiwanese, which resulted in a corner kick and a huge roar from a crowd of 3,758 at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.
Looking for a late winner, Weiss reshuffled his players as Ott and halftime substitute Pabualan were replaced by Oskari Kekkonen and Martin Steuble in the 76th minute.
But unfortunately for the Azkals, it was Taiwan’s substitute Lin who delivered the match-winning goal. – Rappler.com