Throwback Thursdays always show us that we always have memories that we can go back to. And here at The Six-Yard Box, we'll be glad to walk with you along memory lane.
The world loves a good underdog story. And being once known as the 'Whipping boys of Southeast Asia', you can expect that most of the new opponents that we face would be stronger. As is the case in this Throwback. We look at ourselves facing a team that was once an Asian giant, qualifying for the FIFA World Cup twice, and most recently in 2010.
Tuesday. March 29, 2016. It was definitely a good day for football. And I can remember vividly how excited I was to end my shift so I can watch this game.
It was the last match of our World Cup 2018 Qualifying campaign. We were in a good position to qualify for the AFC Asian Cup, but our World Cup dreams was already over at the time. For our opponents, however, they still have a shot by being one of the top four runners-up.
We were the hosts for this game, and our visitors, the strong DPR Korea side. We did have a fairly good chance of beating them at home because we did hold them to a draw the last time we met at their home turf. It was, at the time, unthinkable how we held them to a nil-nil draw in front of a ferocious home crowd. And to make things worse, it wasn't really televised locally in the Philippines. So now that they're the visitors, our boys would've really wanted to put on a show.
And put on a show, they did. Control for the ball was hotly contested. And the physicality was there, too. But it would be the philippines who'd be the first in the book with Luke Woodland getting yellow only after the 11th minute.
It was on the 43rd minute where Manny Ott threaded a great pass to a Javier Patino who manages to dribble past his defender towards right side. Approaching the goal, he puts in a good cross to a Misagh Bahadoran who found himself unguarded in front of goal, heading the goal cleanly into the net, sending the Rizal Memorial Stadium into a frenzy!
I. Was, Screaming. I kid you not. It was one of those feelings where you know you're going to take a giant down a peg. The months of waiting for this game, to be rewarded by this first goal. It was euphoric.
The defenders must've forgotten about this guy as he was wide open. But the Koreans didn't want the half to end that way. It only took them 3 minutes to find an equalizer. A free kick from a good spot was awarded to the North Koreans just a minute into stoppage time. Korea's number 6 (Kukchol Kang according to my Google research), put in a nice cross into the box from around 40 yards.
This crossed was placed just above the reds and white shirts, bouncing from a header to an open number 7 red shirt. It was Ri Hyok-Chol. He lays the ball off to So Kyong-Jin who takes the shot.
My heart raced. But the effort was blocked by Juani Guirado. But the attempt also put our keeper, Neil Etheridge in a bad position because the ball was still in the box, and it was going into the path of So Kyong-Jin who takes another shot.
This time, he will not miss. With Neil out of position, the ball wouldn't be stopped. Thus ending the first half all square for both sides.
In the second half, both teams upped the ante. But this led to an early half free-kick for the visitors in a very tempting spot. It was just outside the box. It was again number 6, Kukchol Kang, to take the kick for the Koreans. And it did exactly as it did in the first half. The free kick started the movements that led to another red shirt to come closer to the goal with the intention of shooting. But Neil stopped this attempt, charging the player and deflecting the ball to his left. This gave Korea's number 16, Hak-Su Ro, a chance to head the ball into goal.
But Amani Aguinaldo had other plans, heading the ball away from the net. But this header put the ball ahead of Hak-Su Ro again for a second header. This time, Etheridge was able to parry it away. Only for the ball to land in front of Ri Hyok-Chol who makes no mistake and puts the ball into the net at point blank.
And in just that quick moment, the North Koreans show us why they're ranked higher than us. That 41-rank difference can really be seen here where dead-ball plays are really things that they take advantage of.
And in that moment, you can't help but feel a little down. Yes, inside you're still chanting, hoping for a comeback. But that's football for you. North Korea leads 2-1 just in the 47th minute.
And they will hold on to that for as long as they can. Even when the Philippines upped their game even more, you can see that the Korean defense was very resilient. The Koreans were almost at the end game. But then, something magical happened.
83 minutes in. Only 7 minutes to go, we found ourselves outside of North Korea's box. With the recently retired James Young husband finding Patino at the edge of the box. After trying hard to keep possession, he twists and turns as he places the ball ahead of Azkals debutante Miguel Tanton.
Tanton, seeing Manny Ott's good run, backheels the ball to him cleverly. And Manny Ott, with the opening in front of him, takes the shot, putting it beyond the keepers reach, GOAL! The Philippines equalizes just as the time was running out.
You can feel the intensity of the crowd. You know that they were waiting for this. And it came spectacularly. It sends us all screaming and reaching for the roof. We can take the fight to these giants. We can see the end game!
That was one of the best team plays I've ever seen. But just when you thought we're stopping there, Martin Steuble found Patino up front 5 minutes later. Fighting for that ball, he tried holding the ball just inside the box, waiting for a teammate.
Then in comes Iain Ramsay! He was left well unguarded on the opposite side. Patino puts the ball in his path, and the crowd was already on their feet. They know what was coming. With all eyes on Patino again, Ramsay comes in and sweeps the rug from under them. Placing the ball away from the keepers reach, sending the already noisy Filipino crowd to another great uproar! GOAL! We did it! We knocked them off the high horse.
And there it was, we ended the game with the score of 3-2. The Philippines did what many thought were not doable.
We stopped a mighty North Korean side who still had something to play for. We know that they were giving it their all, and as did we. It was our grit, our hard work, our belief in ourselves that we did a giant killing.
This match is one of those classics that we will never ever forget. Another Throwback to remember.
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