FRANTIC FIRST DAY IN AFF SUZUKI CUP QUALIFIERS

After the first two matches of this year’s championship, it can be ascertained that all five teams are evenly matched – hence the absence of high scores.

And comparatively, Philippines who had put seven goals past Timor Leste two years ago in Bacolod City could only muster a 1-0 win this time round.

“Timor have improved a lot in these two years and I believe that they will win points here,” said Juan Cutillas, the head coach of the Philippines.

“For our next match (against Brunei) we have to build on this win and improve on a few areas especially the midfield.”

And while the Philippines will savour the three points they won on the day, Timor on the other hand would have learned that they will need more than just enthusiasm to win matches.

“It was a good start even though we lost but we will use the same tactics for our next match (against hosts Cambodia),” added Pdero Almeida, the head coach of Timor Leste.

“There’s no reason change our tactics.”

Hosts Cambodia will once again be under pressure to deliver the goods especially when they are playing in front of a largely unforgiving crowd.

“Philippines beat Cambodia at the last qualifiers and we intend to change that,” said Prak Sovannara, the head coach for Cambodia.

“I believe that we have made significant improvements in the last month or so and we hope that we can keep up the momentum.”

TOURNAMENT FIXTURES (All matches at the National Olympic Stadium)

17 OCT 2008: PHILIPPINES 1 TIMOR LESTE 0/ CAMBODIA 3 LAOS 2

19 OCT 2008: Timor Leste vs Cambodia (1400hrs)/ Brunei vs Philippines (1600hrs)

21 OCT 2008: Philippines vs Laos (1400hrs)/ Timor Leste vs Brunei (1600hrs)

23 OCT 2008: Laos vs Brunei (1400hrs)/ Cambodia vs Philippines (1600hrs)

25 OCT 2008: Brunei vs Cambodia (1400hrs)/ Laos vs Timor Leste (1600hrs)

NOTE: For more information on the first two matches of the qualifiers, please click on the hyper-link to the AFF Suzuki Cup 2008 mini site on the right side of the main page.