Will Neil see action on March 15?
JUST after the pre-match press con for Mongolia vs. the Azkals, I asked Dan Palami if the one-month gap between the two legs of the AFC Challenge Cup Qualifiers was an advantage or not.
He said it didn’t really matter but added that Neil Etheridge might not play for the second leg, anymore, depending on the outcome of the first leg.
“If we can score a lot of goals or if we can hold them, we might just call Neil for the Bangladesh games,” he said.
We didn’t score a lot of goals but the defense certainly held Mongolia, limiting the Blue Wolves to three (?) shots, none on target.
So will Neil see action in the Mongolia leg?
Palami said Fulham FC has always been generous in lending Neil to national duties and I think not calling Neil for the March 15 game is the Azkals management team’s way of saying thank you. (If Neil plays on March 15, he’d be away from Fulham for almost 20 days, assuming, of course, we qualify to the March 22 to 31 Group Stage.)
But, either way, I’d still be happy.
If Neil plays, then his sturdy presence between the post is a welcome boost for the defense. If he doesn’t, that means Eduard Sacapano, that hard-working No. 2, finally gets a chance to be No. 1 in a competitive game.
Though he has played in a few friendlies, but since 2004 (I have no data prior that), Sacapano has played back-up to Michael Casas and now to Etheridge.
Having one game as a starter in a crucial match is ample reward for sticking with the team all through these years. And besides, with the way Ali Borrome et. al. kept Neil almost uninvolved in defense last Feb. 9, I don't think Sacapano will have much to worry about.
He said it didn’t really matter but added that Neil Etheridge might not play for the second leg, anymore, depending on the outcome of the first leg.
“If we can score a lot of goals or if we can hold them, we might just call Neil for the Bangladesh games,” he said.
We didn’t score a lot of goals but the defense certainly held Mongolia, limiting the Blue Wolves to three (?) shots, none on target.
So will Neil see action in the Mongolia leg?
Palami said Fulham FC has always been generous in lending Neil to national duties and I think not calling Neil for the March 15 game is the Azkals management team’s way of saying thank you. (If Neil plays on March 15, he’d be away from Fulham for almost 20 days, assuming, of course, we qualify to the March 22 to 31 Group Stage.)
But, either way, I’d still be happy.
If Neil plays, then his sturdy presence between the post is a welcome boost for the defense. If he doesn’t, that means Eduard Sacapano, that hard-working No. 2, finally gets a chance to be No. 1 in a competitive game.
Though he has played in a few friendlies, but since 2004 (I have no data prior that), Sacapano has played back-up to Michael Casas and now to Etheridge.
Having one game as a starter in a crucial match is ample reward for sticking with the team all through these years. And besides, with the way Ali Borrome et. al. kept Neil almost uninvolved in defense last Feb. 9, I don't think Sacapano will have much to worry about.
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