FINAL NOTES ON THE AZKALS-SRI LANKA MATCH

The unbelievable wet and wild crowd at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium did not leave their respective seats despite the heavy downpour of rain during the early part of the match. That was enough to further inspire the Azkals to victory in their match against the Red Braves of Sri Lanka.

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Azkals German coach Michael Weiss was truly one happy man with the big 4-0 win by the Nationals in leg two of their World Cup qualifiers. He says it feels so good to finally see the true potential of the team after six months at the helm.

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Chieffy Caligdong, who scored the first goal for the Azkals, says it took awhile for the team to adjust to the wet field but nevertheless delivered when an opening came along.

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Caligdong, who along with James Younghusband, played the wings effectively in support to the frontline games of Phil Younghusband and Angel Guirado. Great efforts too by Michael Ott and Stephan Schrock in manning mid-field spots for the Azkals. And of course to goalkeeper Neil Etheridge, who is still grieving for the untimely demise of his grandfather a few days ago, for his consistent game.

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Great jobs by the Philippine Football Federation (PFF), De LaSalle University and the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) for the refurbishing of the old Rizal Memorial Football Stadium. Despite the heavy rains, the football field did not have muds and bumps. Truly remarkable considering there are only 28 days to prepare the stadium for the Sri Lanka match.