ALLAN THE MAN

The Philippine national men’s football team, Philippine Azkals, survived a late surge from HongKong to get away with a 1-0 victory in an international friendly match Tuesday night at the Mong Kok Stadium in the territory.

Playing through the rain, the Azkals didn’t have a perfect start after allowing Hong Kong to sneak in some chances at the goal. The hosts then found a brilliant shot at the 11th minute, but it was deflected by goalkeeper Neil Etheridge.

Hong Kong continued to pounce on the attack for the rest of the first half, but the Filipinos managed to draw the first blood.

Midfielder Stephan Schrock threw a nifty pass from the left flank to right winger James Younghusband, who buried a header at the 33rd minute to put the Azkals up, 1-nil, which they held through halftime.

The hosts had a great chance to tie the match at the 68th minute after earning a penalty off a foul by Azkals defender Juani Guirado, who made a hard tackle against a Hong Kong player inside the box.

However, Etheridge made another impressive save, kicking the shot as he slid to his left to deny Hong Kong the equalizer.

Hong Kong still tried to claw back, putting on a barrage of goals late in the match. But Etheridge stood his ground and deflected at least five shots by the hosts.

The victory ended the Philippines’ drought against Hong Kong, which had previously prevailed in seven of their eight encounters dating back to 1958. The Azkals drew once against the territory, 3-3, during the 2011 Long Teng Cup.

The match is part of the Azkals’ preparations for the Asian Football Confederation Challenge Cup in Maldives next year, where they aim to surpass their historic third-place finish in the same tournament last year.

WATCH PHILIPPINES vs HONGKONG MATCH HIGHLIGHTS BELOW:

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