Azkals move on after loss to Bahrain

Reeling from a disappointing 1-3 setback to Bahrain in Friday night’s international friendly, the Philippine Azkals take the positive and find a reason to perk up in the solid plays of new players led by Mike Ott.

The 21-year-old Ott, an attacking midfielder who plays for FC Nürnberg II, made his debut for Phl XI and wasted little time making an impact. A second-half sub, Ott showed his pedigree, infused energy, and scored the home team’s lone goal.

Like Ott, youngsters Paolo Bugas, Daniel Gadia, and Fitch Arboleda also lived up to coach Thomas Dooley’s expectations when they were called to action.

“They (young players) all did well. What really went well was when Mike (Ott) scored the goal and showed that he is a good addition to our team,” Dooley said.

Ott’s entry gave him the opportunity to share the field with older brother Manny, a regular fixture in the Azkals campaign.

“Not a good result but I’m super proud of my lil brother for making his debut and scoring his first international goal for the Azkals,” said Manny Ott.

Dooley felt the Pinoy booters looked tired coming off their club campaigns.

“Obviously, the result was disappointing, of course, we’d like to win the game but you can see that the players were mentally and physically tired because of the long season,” said Dooley.

Former Azkals skipper Chieffy Caligdong, who served his first game as Dooley’s assistant, cited the Ott brothers, Phil and James Younghusband and Martin Steuble as the standouts in this game.

“But we had problems at the backline, that’s something we need to correct,” said Caligdong.

The Azkals will try to bounce back in their next friendly against North Korea on Monday at Rizal Memorial Stadium.