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Indonesia edges Azkals, 1-0, on Gonzales header


A header by Christian Gonzales in the 32nd minute gave Indonesia its only goal in its first semifinals match against the Philippine football team in the Suzuki Cup Thursday night at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta. A sea of red-shirted Indonesians cheered on their home squad. They went in a frenzy, particularly in the latter stretch of the first half.
The Uruguayan-born Gonzales, also known as El Loco, came in from the right side to address a fine cross, his header hitting the left post of the goal before going in, to give the host squad a 1-0 lead, which turned out to be the final score. It was the first goal in three matches allowed by the Philippines' 20-year-old goalkeeper Neil Etheridge. Earlier, the Philippines had two chances of making a goal, both of which came from the team's marksman Phil Younghusband. But the Fil-Brit striker couldn't cash in. In the 74th minute, the Filipinos nearly had another goal, this time from Joel Ballo-Allo, who almost scored with a bicycle kick with his back to the goal. In losing by a goal against the Indonesians, the Filipinos squad, also known as the Azkals, will need to score two goals to win on Sunday. In case the Azkals do not outscore the Indonesians by a goal, extra time will be given. If the aggregated scores will remain tied after the extra time, a penalty shootout will determine which team will advance to the finals. In defeat, the Filipinos showed remarkable improvement in facing the Indonesians, who gave the traditional whipping squad a sound beating, 13-1, in 2002. This year’s batch of Filipino footballers has been the surprise of Southeast Asia. They stunned the defending champion Vietnamese squad, then held on for a draw against Myanmar to advance into the semifinals. Defense was also a solid aspect in the Azkals’ game throughout the campaign. But while their defense was holding down their rivals, the Azkals’ offense still needed a little tweaking. This was not evident at the start of their semis encounter with the Indonesians, when they dominated possession and clearly had more chances at scoring with their aggressive offensive scheme that had the odds-on favorite Indonesians on their heels. - KY, OMG, HS, JVP, Rey Joble, GMANews.TV

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