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| Philippines manager Thomas Dooley speaks to the media after the hosts drew with Singapore on the opening day of the AFF Suzuki Cup |
By Kevin Estrada
BOCAUE -- Almost everyone from the Azkals expressed their disappointment when they were held to a goalless stalemate by a shorthanded Singapore side to open the AFF Suzuki Cup last Saturday night at the Philippine Sports Stadium.
Head coach Thomas Dooley was first to express it in the post-match presser, noting that they did not get the result they wanted despite the circumstances that went on their favor.
"We have two, three great opportunities to score. We didn't finish that is normally something that we were hoping," the American lamented.
For him, this will be a learning process for the team that hosts the Suzuki Cup for the first time, noting that Tuesday's encounter with Indonesia is a must win for them to put their title hopes back on track.
Azkals team manager Dan Palami echoed Dooley's statements on lack of chances that were the key factors on the result, but he is still hopeful that they will get the job on heading into Tuesday's match
"There are a lots of things to work on for the next game. The road has gone tougher, but it's still doable and we have to do what we have to do," Palami quoted
They [Indonesia] got Thailand into trouble," he further added, noting that they are wary about the speed of their next opponent where anything less than a win spells disaster for their homestand.
Captain Phil Younghusband was also disappointed but notes that Tuesday's match against the Indonesians has a bigger weight compared to their 4-0 drubbing in 2014 and hopes that more fans would come out to PSS and support them.
"We have to hope that more will come to the next game, and give us the support we need, and it can be the difference," Younghusband concluded.
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