ALLAN THE MAN

The Philippine national men’s football team, Philippine Azkals, failed to get back at familiar foe Indonesia, yielding a 2-0 result in a friendly on Wednesday night at the Manahan Stadium in Surakarta, Indonesia. 

Playing before a hostile hometown crowd, the Azkals struggled early to allow the Indonesians to dominate possession. Coach Hans Michael Weiss also fielded an unusual mix of players on defense, with some playing out of their natural positions.

Midfielder James Younghusband started the match as a defender, joining versatile wingers Carlie de Murga and Jeffrey Christiaens in a backline led by veteran Rob Gier.

The Indonesians took advantage of the Azkals’ inexperienced defense, creating at least four goal chances in the first 26 minutes of the opening half. The hosts found the back of the net at the 31st minute after Stefano Lilipaly threw a short cross to Greg Nwokolo, who buried a shot in front of the goal for a 1-nil lead.

Indonesia continued its relentless attack in the second half, padding its lead to 2-nil at the 66th minute after Muhammad Roby scored a header off a corner kick.

The Azkals tried to claw back in the match after finally finding offensive chances at the goal. Late subs Marwin Angeles and OJ Porteria had great attempts, as did Phil Younghusband and Misagh Bahadoran in the closing minutes.

However, their shots failed to hit the mark, allowing the Indonesians come away with the victory.

The result extended the winless streak of the 141st-ranked Philippines against the 168th-ranked Indonesians, whom the Filipinos failed to defeat in at least 20 matches since 1958.

The two sides also met in the semifinals of the ASEAN Football Federation Suzuki Cup in 2010 in which the Azkals were forced to play their home matches in Indonesia due to the lack of a suitable venue. Indonesia prevailed on a 2-0 aggregate.

The Azkals faced the Indonesians once again last year at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium in Manila, rallying to a 2-2 draw.

The friendly match is part of the Azkals’ preparations for the 2014 Asian Football Confederation Challenge Cup in Maldives, where the Filipinos aim to surpass their third place finish last year.

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