Scott Cooper’s first game in charge as the Philippine Men’s National Football Team coach was a 1-1 draw away to Bahrain at the Bahrain National Stadium in Riffa.
Phil Younghusband’s 51st international goal seemed to give Cooper a dream start as the Azkals mentor, but the players conceded a late equalizer to the home side.
Cooper named an experienced side to start the game, but the Filipinos failed to put the ball at the back of the net in the first half. Manny Ott had decent attempts on goal but the midfielder was denied the opener.
It took a Younghusband penalty early in the second half for the Azkals to finally break through. The Davao Aguilas man was brought down in the Bahrain box, which forced the referee to point to the spot. The skipper then coolly converted the penalty to hand the Philippines a 1-0 lead.
Bahrain, however, grew stronger after Younghusband’s goal. The Bahrainis bombarded the Philippine defense, and the Filipinos were lucky to not have conceded a goal when goalkeeper Neil Etheridge failed to catch the ball. Defender Carlie De Murga was there to clear the danger.
Due to the amount of stoppages in the match, the referee called for an additional seven minutes in the contest. The Azkals looked to have held on for the win, but Bahrain had other plans. Right at the death, Sayed Adnan Hussain scored a leveler to salvage the home side a draw.
While Cooper’s reign did not have a dream start, it was a decent away result against a tough foe. There is still work to be done and enough time to do so before the 2018 AFF Suzuki Cup and 2019 AFC Asian Cup.
Philippines XI: Etheridge (GK), Sato, Aguinaldo, Woodland, De Murga, Mannny Ott, Nazari, Schrock, Mike Ott, Younghusband, Reichelt.
Bahrain XI: Essa (GK), Shmsan, Al Hayam, Ridha, Juma, Atsaru, Hardan, Rashid, Madan, Yousf, Diah.
