Philippines defeat Afghanistan in back to back late goals

Photo Credits: The Philippine Football Federation

Better late than never.

This may be the battlecry of the Azkals as they upset Afghanistan; 2-1.

While the home team was dominant and impressive in the goalless first half, their defense broke down leading to Afghanistan's Omid Popalzay scoring the first goal in the 64th minute.

The Philippines quickly regrouped and brought in Sebastian Rasmussen who scored the equalizer as the clock hits 73 minutes. Backed by the crowd that kept chanting one more goal, the Azkals did not disappoint as Christian Rontini took advantage of the opportunity and scored the winning goal in the 81st minute.

The Azkals' victory is a promise fulfilled by Coach Michael Weiss and his wards when he said on the pre-game presser that they were going to win not by words but with their performance. For skipper Neil Etheridge though, the win against Afghanistan is not just for the home crowd but sort of a vindication after the frustrating draw they had in Taiwan a few days back.

"I still feel like we were robbed of that match [in Taiwan]. We could have won it," Etheridge said.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan Coach Abdullah Almutiari, despite the loss says he is still very proud of his team and that he is very positive that they are ready for the first round of the World Cup Qualifiers.

"I'm still very proud of my team. They were fighters who went up against a strong team such as the Philippines. I believe that from this game, we are now ready to face Mongolia," Almutiari said as he expressed his thoughts after the game.

The Afghanistan team also expressed their deep appreciation of the hospitality of the Filipinos, not just on the pitch, but everywhere they went in the country. Almutiari also hoped that they get to play in Manila again soon.

About two thousand fans flocked to the Rizal Memorial Stadium and played a great factor for the team when they were down by a goal. Fans constantly kept chanting sure did make the Azkals feel that they needed to give back to these people who took the time to see them.

"The goals we scored are not just for Sebastian [Rasmussen] or for me, this is more for the Philippines, for the fans who never stopped showing us support. This makes us proud to wear this jersey and play for the country," Rontini said as he talked about how special his winning goal was.