ILOILO CITY – Substitute Jovin Bedic rescued the Philippine Azkals from defeat with an 81st minute goal to settle for a 1-1 draw with defending champion Thailand in the AFF Suzuki Cup at the Panaad Stadium in Bacolod City Thursday night.
Bedic, who replaced Daisuke Sato three minutes earlier, fired a right-footed shot from outside of the box that hit the post before the ball rolled past the goal line that enabled the Azkals split a point with the two-time holders of the competition.
The heroics of Bedic, a native of Barotac Nuevo located a few kilometers away from this city, cancelled the opening goal of Thailand’s Jaided Supachai in the 56th to move closer toward a return trip to the semifinals.
The two sides remain on level terms with seven points apiece, with Thailand on top of Group B on goal difference.
They are one clear of third place Singapore, which rolled to a 6-1 romp of Timor-Leste in the other match at National Stadium in the Lion City.
Coach Sven-Goran Eriksson and the Azkals need to a win in their final group stage match on Sunday against Indonesia in Jakarta to secure their fourth semis berth in the last five editions of the Suzuki Cup.
The Azkals nearly threw away the match where they dominated possession when Supachai scored on a counterattack to put the visiting War Elephants ahead.
Eriksson went with Bedic to add some scoring punch for the Azkals in the 78th, and the hero of Kaya-Iloilo’s title victory in the Copa Paulino Alcantara became the unlikely hero in the match witnessed by more than 3,500 fans.
Threats of rain hovered in the days leading up to the contest due to Tropical Depression Samuel, though organizers didn’t entertain the possibility of postponing the match.
Bedic’s family, several fans and three Manila-based scribes who had hoped to reach Bacolod by ferry were left stranded here after trips were cancelled as early as Tuesday.
