PHL Azkals suffer home defeat against Indonesia in AFF Championship Cup

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Despite the presence of the Filipino fans while playing in a familiar territory, the Philippine Azkals still failed to salvage a clutch win and lost at the hands of Indonesia, 2-1, during the 2022 AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup last January 2, 2023, held at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.

It was an energetic start for the Azkals’ must-win match after turning on the jets in hopes of cashing in an early goal to establish immediate momentum.

Playing quick sets became the Azkals’ clear offensive game plan against Indonesia and seemed to work well after Stephan Schrock and Kenshiro Daniels had one attempt to draw first blood in the first 20 minutes of action.

However, all those loud early cheers from the Filipinos quickly became deafening silence after Indonesia’s Dendy Sulistyawan scored the first goal courtesy of a well-timed header.

The Azkals responded well with an aggressive attack from the right side of the pitch but the Indonesians came prepared and adjusted defensively.

21 minutes after the Sulistyawan goal, the Indonesians were on board again for the second time after Marselino Ferdinan tapped the ball inside the penalty area.

The Filipino booters replicated its mayhem style of offense after the second-half whistle was blown but still failed to get clear looks against the busy Indonesian backline.

Midfielder Sandro Reyes was near to delivering the first goal for the Azkals but his attempt was stopped by Indonesia’s goalkeeper.

With only seven minutes remaining in the game, Azkals’ substitute Jens Rasmussen shed light on the Filipino hopefuls after scoring their first goal of the match.

Eager to equalize and turn things around, the Azkals went quick with their scoring schemes but after several tries, it was the Indonesians who prevailed in another close clash.

The Azkals ended its AFF Championship Cup campaign with a record of one win and three losses built from three registered points in their bracket.