IN 2005, brothers Phil and James Younghusband became the toast of the international media covering the Southeast Asian Games because of their hype--Chelsea reserve players suiting up for the Philippines U23 for the first time.
I remember a Thai journalist asking Phil to confirm if they really did play for the Chelsea reserves, while one coach mused it was the first time for him to see international media paying attention to the Philippine national team.
There were alot of firsts during that stint--first win in Seag in 14 years--but a semis stint wasn’t meant to be. In 2006, the brothers returned for their first tour with the senior team, this time in the AFF Championships qualifiers (now known as the Suzuki Cup).
They were the youngest and the newest member of the senior team and 11 years later, the brothers are still with the team, now as the statesmen of the game and of course, rescuing the team again.
When Yemen took that surprise lead in the first half, Phil scored one of his most impressive goals for the Azkals with a freekick that had more bend than a twister and after the visitors again took the lead in the second half, catching the Azkals sleeping on defense it was James turn to play the hero.
James, who have lost his starting spot, showed he hasn’t lost his knack for scoring goals, heading in Manny Ott’s cross in the 71st to make it 2-2.
That goal saved the day for the Philippines, which looked to be the more tired team against a squad that travelled for three days to get to Bacolod.
Still, the draw was the best result considering how flat the defense looked at times and we’re still on top of the group at 7 points with Yemen second. The two teams will meet again, this time in Qatar (Yemen can’t host football matches) and I hope the team can address issues in the back four. As what Ryan Fenix pointed out, we haven’t had a stable defense since Rob Gier, Juani Guirado and Jerry Lucena retired.
Though the result was only a bit disappointing, what’s really disappointing though was the turnout. I really expected a jam-packed Panaad but there were only 2,900 in the stands, plus scores more watching through the gates.
And that’s Bacolod, which sees 10,000 fans for the home games of Ceres. Is it because the Ceres games are free to the public and the Azkals aren’t? Is it the lack of promotion? I don’t know. And this time, I hope, the PFF will take action.