AFC Challenge Cup: Palestine vs Philippines Update 3

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Philippines vs Palestine

After watching the delayed telecast of the match, here are the numbers:

Philippines		Palestine
0	Goals	0
8 (5)	Shots Taken (on Target)	19 (7)
2	Corner	9
0	Offside	1
8	Free Kick	5
3	Yellow Card	1
0	Red Card	0

I got the Corner Kick and Free Kick numbers from ABS-CBN but the rest I counted it myself.  We differ in the Shots Taken stat (they had Philippines-13 and Palestine-18).  I dunno if mine are accurate, especially the Shots on Target numbers coz it can be a bit difficult to decide if it’s on target or not.  Anyway, in counting the shots (and shots on target), I based this on the definition here (and after reading this definition, I’m doubting the accuracy in my Shots stats in the Myanmar game… oh well, I guess I’ll learn as I move along J).

Yellow Cards:

            Simon Greatwich (Philippines)

M S Albahdari Abdallatif (Palestine)

            Anton Del Rosario (Philippines)

            James Younghusband (Philippines)

I know this isn’t usually done but I’m separating the figures of the 1^st half from the 2^nd half so you can see how the game changed from after halftime.  Coz sometimes a team starts slow at first and would pick up in the second half, or vice versa.  And if you just look at the over-all stats, sometimes it won’t tell you the complete story of the game, so here’s my 1^st half-2^nd half breakdown of the stats J

As I’ve said in the Myanmar vs Philippines post-game post (J), I know this is like days too late and there have been a lot of news/reports on this game, but here are my two cents on this match (if you’re interested):

Philippines			Palestine
1st Half	2nd Half		1st Half	2nd Half
0	0	Goals	0	0
0 (0)	8 (5)	Shots Taken (on Target)	12 (3)	7 (4)
2	0	Corner	7	2
0	0	Offside	1	0
1	7	Free Kick	2	3
1	2	Yellow Card	0	1
0	0	Red Card	0	0

1)   It was great that ABS-CBN did not anymore spend an hour in the pre-match analysis (the last time the game ended at almost 2AM).  But I think they’re not used to airing football matches coz they sold a lot of ad slots (or maybe they were just looking at the profit? :P) and it’s funny because they crammed it all during the pre-, halftime and post- match analysis.  The commentators would only say like 3-5 sentences and then cut to a commercial break.  It was a bit ridiculous coz it seemed like the ads were longer than the actual analysis “spots”/segments.

2)   Looking at the stats, I guess you can say that Palestine is really one of the stronger teams in this group.  They had quite a lot of attempts in the 1^st half and even though only a few are on target, those were really dangerous shots.  But Etheridge is an excellent goalie and saved us from conceding goals

3)   Although we had zero shot attempts in the 1^st half, it was not without trying on our part.  There were some beautiful crosses from JYounghusband and Caligdong but it just couldn’t find someone in the center to finish off the shot.  The Palestine defense was just so tight and organized, they made it really hard for the Azkals to create scoring opportunities.

Chieffy Caligdong 
photo courtesy of Craig Burrows and
Roy Moore of pinoyfootball.com.  More pics here.

4)   Speaking of attack, Guirado didn’t really make his presence felt in this match, especially in the 1^st half.  I dunno if it’s because of Palestine’s compact defense or he was just a tad bit slower in this game.  Was he injured in their previous game?  ..Caligdong had a few opportunities but Palestine’s defense was really good.  However, I like the fact that he also created chances for the Azkals, he some great set up crosses, as did JYounghusband.

5)   With Palestine’s attack, yes, they had a lot of shot attempts and very fast with their counter but a few of them were like 40-50 yard runs.  Personally, I’m not really impressed coz I prefer the quick, one-two passes among players, showing fluid team play.  But, that’s just me J  Palestine also have two amazing long shot attempts.  One was during the 1^st half by N O Alfawaghra Ashraf and the second one was in the 2^nd half which I think was still by the same player (I’m not sure).

6)   Palestine’s H A Mahanja Ahmed (the one with the #12 jersey, who I think is also their team captain) was quite a threat to the Azkals’ defense.  I wonder how old he is, is he Palestine’s version of our Barsales?  But then again, just because your bald doesn’t mean you’re old, hehe J Take Wayne Rooney, can you believe he’s only twenty five?  He kind looks like he’s in his 30s :P

7)   In this match, we faced a more “bigger” opponent.  Unlike the Myanmar game, the Palestinians players are tall.  But we held our own, we have the likes of Aldeguer, Borromeo, Younghusband, Etheridge, etc., so I guess you can’t really say we’re the smaller team, “physique-wise”.