The Sick Man of Asia

Ian Araneta (23) completes a hat trick as the Philippines end the tournament with a bang! Oh yeah! Emilio Caligdong scores the Philippines first goal in the 6th minute of the 1st half. James Younghusband also contribute one goal! ESPN SoccerNews in the US mention James Younghusband's name a couple of times as the result was featured in their Asian Soccer News segment. Awesome!

The Philippines thank their lucky stars as they walk away with a draw vs Taiwan after trailing for 41 minutes. They equalize on injury time. This writer is still wiping tears from his eyes. And nearly fell off his seat. Ian Araneta scores the equalizer in the 90th minute. Phil Younghusband header from a set piece hits the post and a mad scamble inside the pitch ensues when it finds the magical boots of Ian Araneta, who wasted no time in whacking the ball in the goal.

The Philippines lost yesterday to the Hong Kong U23 squad 4-2. The loss was a bit baffling because the Philippines had an 85% possession in the game and had more shots on goal. Hong Kong proved to be more clinical finishers by scoring 2 goals before HT, and 2 more in the last 15 minutes of the match. Phil Younghusband had a chance to give the lead to the Philippines when he found himself 1-1 with the keeper, but his chip shot was sweeped off by a defender. Had he scored he would have had a hat trick after scoring the brace in the first ten minutes of the second half from a penalty. The match is not an A side match and will not affect the rankings of both teams. RP team line-up: (4-4-2) Sacapano; David Basa(RB), Rob Gier and Anton del Rosario (CBs), Jerry Barbaso(LB); James Younghusband(RM), Jason de Jong and Roel Gener (CMs), Chieffy Caligdong(LM); Aly Borromeo and Ian Araneta (FWs) Subs: Phil Younghusband for Jerry Barbaso, others unknown Hong Kong U-23 squad: Yehong Hui, ...

The International Friendly match between the Philippines and Hong Kong has been cancelled due to heavy rain. The pitch was flooded and referees were forced to postpone the game 14 minutes through the first half. The match will resume tommorow 9 October 2010 at 5PM. You can follow the match on http://www.futbol24.com/Live/ . If any of you bastards have any links of live streaming websites that show international friendlies, please share with us here on The Sick Man of Asia. Now Fuck Off!