AZKALS KINAPOS SA CHINESE TAIPEI

TINAPOS ng Pilipinas ang June 2023 FIFA international window sa 2-3 pagkatalo kontra Chinese Taipei noong Lunes ng gabi sa Rizal Memorial Stadium.

Umiskor sina Mike Ott at Patrick Reichelt para sa Azkals sa first half matapos ang maagang goal ng Taiwanese mula kay We Yen-shu.

Naitabla ng Chinese Taipei ang talaan makaraang umatake si Wang Geon-Myeong sa 61st minute at kinamada ni Lin Ming-Yei ang match winner ilang minuto lamang bago ang final whistle na ikinalungkot ng 3,758 fans na sinuong ang malakas na ulan.

Masaklap ang pagkatalo para sa Pilipinas, na nakaambang mapreserba ang draw makaraang gumawa si goalkeeper Neil Etheridge ng ilang key saves sa second half subalit kinapos.

“It was an absolute deserved win for Chinese Taipei,” sabi ni returning Azkals coach Hans Michael Weiss.

“Nevertheless, I think the potential is really there. If this group is fit, if these players who had to pull out last minute (return), we’ll see a different group.”

“Please don’t be disappointed. I think we can see many, many more positives in the next September, October and November windows,” dagdag pa niya.

Nabigo ang Azkals na masundan ang 1-0 panalo kontra Nepal noong nakaraang Huwebes na pumutol sa four-match losing streak.

Sa resulta ng dalawang friendlies, si Weiss, kahit paano, ay nagagalak at binigyang-diin na sa window na ito ay hindi mahalaga ang panalo o pagkatalo.

“We take risks. I’m not interested so much in results now. I’m more interested that we create chances, that we have opportunities, that we put the gas in the pedal, that we are active, and that’s what we’re doing,” sabi ni Weiss.

“We took a risk also with the young players, we wanted to give them a chance. I needed to see in this window who we can trust,” dagdag pa ng German mentor.