AFF Suzuki Cup 2010 Semi-Finals: Indonesia beats Philippines (Azkals) 1-0

Advertisements
Cristian Gonzales scored a goal good enough to give TimNas Indonesia a 1-0 win vs the Azkals (Team Philippines) during their match earlier tonight, December 16, at the AFF Suzuki Cup 2010.

Watch a video of how Cristian Gonzales, a Uruguayan-Indonesian player, scored that 1 goal:

It was the first semi-final game between Philippines and Indonesia, held at the latter's Gelora Bung Karno Stadium.

With 80,000 Indonesians plus Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono watching live at the venue, their loud cheers definitely helped Team Indonesia to play their very best and win over the "underdog" Azkals.

But those loud cheers obviously distracted the Philippine team. This is the sad part actually of playing in your opponent's homeland.

With that victory, Indonesia remains to be the undefeated team in AFF Suzuki Cup 2010, but their win vs Philippines wasn't their best when compared to their previous 3 games in the tournament.

During the prelims, Indonesia scored 5 goals against Malaysia, 6 goals against Laos and 2 goals during their game with Thailand. And for the semis with the Philippines, TimNas Indonesia scored just 1 goal.

That could mean, Philippines really played so well tonight. They did their best defense so that Indonesia won't score more goals. Indonesian coach was quoted saying this at AFF official site: "I think our opponents played very well. They have tall players, are good at defending the ball and they made it very difficult for us to win challenges and create chances. Therefore I am very happy with the result, especially as we have won what for us was our 'away' game."

It was kinda obvious that Team Indonesia was somehow threatened by the Azkals, who's playing in the semis for the first time ever.

At times, the Indonesian players got so rough and extra "physical" during the game.

It was meanwhile the first defeat for the Philippines, which had 2-0 win over Vietnam and 2 draws with Singapore and Myanmar during the prelims.

But what's all that matters now is their semi-finals performance, so the Philippines still has another chance to beat Indonesia on Sunday, December 19, for their 2nd face-off still at the same venue. (sad face here)

The Azkals need to win that game, with atleast 2 goals more than Indonesia, for them to advance to the Finals and face possibly Team Malaysia.

Video upload courtesy of AdriRMB

About M.I.

Mykiru is an entertainment blogger, having been named as one of the Top 10 Pinoy Showbiz Resources in the Philippines. For a decade now, Mykiru.ph has been delivering the latest, the hottest and most trending issues in the country.
Comments

1 Comment(s):