Azkals, Malaysians in scoreless draw

Game Tuesday (Rizal Memorial Stadium)
7 p.m. – Philippines vs Indonesia

Manila, Philippines – The Philippine Azkals and AFF Suzuki Cup champion Malaysia settled for another draw after the two squads failed to score a goal in their friendly match held Friday night at the Shah Alam Stadium in Malaysia.

Goalkeeper Roland Muller played steady at the net as the Azkals prevented the Malaysians from capitalizing on clear scoring chances while Stephan Schrock and Denis Wolf missed two potential goals early in the first half to force another stalemate.

For the second straight time, no one from both sides were able to come out victorious.

In February, the Filipinos were on the verge of a stunning upset over the Malaysians but substitute Ahmad Shakir scored in stoppage to force a 1-all draw at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.

Schrock almost scored in the seventh minute but his shot rolled wide left of the post while Wolf failed to strike in the 32nd minute.

Those missed shots showed a somewhat solid, sometimes rocky showing by the Azkals.

“Overall it was a great result, we got a taste of playing the AFF Cup champions on their own ground and we will know what it will be like in six months,” said Azkals mentor Michael Weiss in an article by the New Straits Times. (Jonas Terrado)