By: Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The Azkals U-22 squad controlled the pace for most of the match but ended up losing a heartbreaker to Myanmar, 2-1, in their second game of the 2019 Southeast Asian Games football event.
Wasting no time adjusting to Myanmar’s defense, the PH booters were off to a blazing start after getting tons of attempts for an early score.
Stephan Shrock cruised through Myanmar’s defense numerous times and created opportunities for the Azkals, including a missed open header by Yrick Gallantes as early as the ninth minute.
Moments after the header miss, Gallantes again found himself with a clean attempt but was saved by the goalkeeper.
Minutes after the hot PH start, it was Myanmar’s turn as they surprised everyone at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium with the opening goal.
Myanmar’s fast-paced passing led to PH’s defense breaking down that all happened in a blink of an eye.
The game atmosphere changed to a new level after the Myanmar conversion as the Azkals doubled their aggressiveness in hopes to equalize the game before the half.
With a minute remaining in the first-half, Gallantes fired a cross that Dennis Chung received perfectly, tapping the ball to Justin Baas for the equalizer, 1-1.
The whole second half became a battle of attrition, as both squads looked to push the pace every possession they had.
Both teams started to change gears and deploy different schemes in hopes to surprise the defense one gave to the other, and it turned out to be in favor of Myanmar, where they converted another goal, taking the lead 2-1.
PH then went fast with every possession to equalize, but time was not on their side as the game closed.
