Philippine Azkals, sorry over losing AFC Challenge Cup final bout against Palestine

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Manila, Philippines  - The Philippine football team Azkals is extending their apologies for their failure to bring home the championship title in the AFC Challenge Cup against Palestine, during their final field bout held in Maldives.

Azkals team manager Dan Palami, in his statement said they have done everything they could but still they were unable to beat Palestine in the end. But despite the loss, Palami is still proud of the Azkals' achievement.

"Sorry if we failed you PILIPINAS we tried but fell short. Thank u Daddy God for this opportunity. In victory & defeat, to God be the glory!" said Palami.

Palami however said he remained grateful to God for this opportunity, and to the people who have supported the Azkals until this day.

The Azkals team is currently taking a short break, before going back to their respective football teams.

Meanwhile, Phil Younghusband purportedly couldn't help but blamed himself for the failure goal attempts he made.

Yet despite the loss, the Philippine team still thanked God for keeping every team player in good shape while some of them only ended up with minor injuries.

It was the goal from Ashraf Nu'man Alfawaghra in the 58th minute mark of the game has brought the team Palenstine to a 1-0 victory against Philippines.

Because of this win, Palestine has just created a history for winning the championship of the international tournament and for entering the Asian Cup, all for the first time.

Game Summary:

There was no doubt, Palestine deserved to have this triumph, given the determination and defensive team effort they have shown in the entire duration of the game.

During the first half, Palestine has already dominated the field, as the team already got a corner kick in the early two-minute mark. This was followed by another goal attempt that went to the hands of the Philippine goalkeeper Roland Mueller.

Palestine made another assault and attempted to goal in the 7th minute and again in the 11th minute. Both attempts however were saved by Mueller.

In the 16-minute, Palestine once again attempted to hit for a goal but Mueller was too quick to save the ball, preventing the Palestinian team from scoring.

Later in the 22nd minute, the Philippine Azkals was given a chance to score when Patrick Reichelt was given a free kick. Nevertheless, that didn't go through either.

Because of the well-played ball passing and compact defense execution of the Palestinian dribblers, the Azkals couldn't get any opportunity to advance for an offense. Every time they tried to move towards their rival's net, they lost the ball.

Ten minutes left in the first half, when the Pinoy dribblers became more aggressive, as they augmented their offenses.

Phil Younghusband was granted with a free kick in the 36th minute while Patrick Reichelt attempted to hit the goal in the 37th minute, but then again both of them failed.

In the 41st minute mark, Younghusband was once again given with a good chance to goal but the Palestine goalkeeper was quick enough to save the ball, making the Azkals striker so frustrated.

Later on, came a terrifying moment of the game in the 43th minute that stunned the Azkals fans in the venue.

Ashraf made another attempt. Mueller was able to save it but then he fell and lost the ball. The Palestinian quickly recovered for a follow up attempt but Amani Aguinaldo was there to defend and hit the ball back to the Palestinian's corner.

During the stoppage time, Simone Rota tried to open the scoring for the Philippines but it was out of the cross bar. The first half ended with a nil-nil or both teams were scoreless.

When the second half instigated, Azkals portrayed a different field play execution, augmenting defense and creating more offenses. Reichelt made two consecutive attempts but still couldn't give the Philippines a goal.

In the 53rd minute, the Azkals' defense was further tested when Palestine made another goal attempt that hit the goal post. The Philippines immediately responded with another goal attempt from Rota in the 54th minute but still got no luck.

Palestine was given a free kick in the 58th minute, which resulted to a 1-0 advantage over Philippines.

The Azkals tried hard to create a deadlock but still failed to post an equalizer no matter how they tried.

Later on, the game officials ordered Azkals' manager Palami to get out of the pitch, 20 minutes left in the game, after Palami questioned the Yellow Card call against Reicehlt.

Despite the lost, the Pinoy fans in the venue were still proud of the Philippine team Azkals, for they still crafted history with their second place finish.

This is the first time for the Philippine football team to enter the finals of the AFC Challenge Cup since finishing third in 2012. That was when the Azkals trounced Palestine.

This is already the last year for the AFC Challenge Cup but there will be an expansion of AFC Asian Cup, which will be participated in by 24 countries (previously 16 countries).

Categories: Sports