BOCAUE – Misagh Bahadoran played down his scoring exploits, saying the Philippines’ offense as a unit was still not enough to get the job done against Indonesia in their Asean Football Federation Suzuki Cup match on Tuesday night.
The Azkals strike star found the back of the net in the 31st minute when he finished off a Stephan Schrock free kick to equalize after the Indonesians struck an early goal.
The visitors regained the lead and a 2-2 draw was the best the Azkals could come up with after Phil Younghusband stepped up with a late equalizer.
“We pressured them, but they stayed strong on the defensive line and they got the result,” Bahadoran said.
[See Younghusband's first goal in two years couldn't have come at a better time]
“Indonesia played very well,” he added. “Defensively, they did a good job and they took advantage of the corner kick and they scored.”
The result put the Azkals’ bid to qualify for a fourth straight semifinal appearance in peril, needing a win against mighty Thailand on Friday to avoid comlications.
“It’s still tight, so we have to play good and win against Thailand to qualify for the semifinals,” Bahadoran said.
“We have to watch out for counter-attcks against Thailand,” he added. “They are good at that and they are fast.”
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