Thailand, Indonesia advance to semifinals
MANILA, Philippines (UPDATE) -- The Philippine Azkals suffered a heartbreaking loss against Thailand on Friday night at the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan and missed out on what could have been their fourth trip to the semifinals of the AFF Suzuki Cup.
The Azkals went toe-to-toe with the War Elephants for almost the entire match until late in the game when Thailand's Sarawut Masuk managed to sneak in the winning goal past Filipino keeper Roland Mueller.
The hosts had the home turf advantage this year but they failed to capitalize on their chances in their earlier matches, particularly against Singapore.
Thailand, which was already assured of a place in the semifinals with two victories, constantly pressured the nationals’ defensive backline during their game.
The Filipinos' defense held up while Stephan Schrock, Phil Younghusband, and Misagh Bahadoran were busy trying to create scoring chances.
“[We’re] frustrated obviously. We didn't win, we didn't make it to the next round,” said Azkals coach Thomas Dooley after the match.
“I just have to say that the players played really hard and they played what they could as long as the legs were moving,” he added. “That's what it is, there's nothing much more in there.”
“It's disappointing and we have to move on.”
The Azkals ended up with two points on two draws and a loss in Group A. The Filipinos were first held to a scoreless draw by a 10-man Singapore squad before settling for a 2-2 stalemate against Indonesia.
Meanwhile, Indonesia beat Singapore in the other match that took place at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila.
The Red and Whites had it 2-1 against the Lions, collecting a total of four points to finish second in Group A. They will join Thailand in the semifinal round.
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