The Philippines are confident that they will advance to their first ever AFF Suzuki Cup final after holding tournament favourites Thailand goalless in the semifinal first leg.
Saturday night's 0-0 draw at Manila's Rizal Memorial Stadium was a result that satisfied Philippines head coach Thomas Dooley ahead of Wednesday's return leg in Bangkok.
The Azkals had numerous chances to score and played against a Thai side reduced to 10 men in the 68th minute after Adisak Kraisorn was sent off for an elbow on defender Amani Aguinaldo.
"I'm OK with the score, it's important not to get scored upon at home," Dooley told sports.inquirer.net. "I can live with that."
To advance to the Southeast Asian finals on Dec. 17 and 20, the Philippines need a score draw -- or a win -- in the away leg. They've never beaten Thailand in 43 years of matches between the two sides.
Former Chelsea junior Phil Younghusband had several good chances either side of halftime. He forced a reflex save from Thai goalkeeper Kawin Thamsatchanan with a long-range free kick in the 41st minute. He also broke free in the box soon after halftime only to lose his footing when he was one-on-one with Kawin.
"I think we showed today we can compete with teams like Thailand," said Younghusband. "It's a big advantage we did not concede a goal today."
Thailand head coach Kiatisuk Senamuang was equally confident that his side will get a positive result in Wednesday's second leg at the Rajamangala Stadium -- which is a 65,000 ticket sellout -- to take them through to the finals. The three-time champions are in search of their first AFF title since 2002.
"The Philippines is a very strong team, we respect them," Kiatisuk said. "The Philippines worked hard, we tried, but you can't expect a win every time."
Dooley added that the spirit of Filipino boxing legend Manny Pacquiao was an inspiration to the Azkals. "Manny is a big influence for us, just like a boxer hitting you, you have to hit back," Dooley said. "If they attack us if we get the ball, we'll attack immediately. "They'll pressure us but we will play our kind of game."
The Philippines, Southeast Asia's highest ranked FIFA nation at 128th, are playing in their third consecutive Suzuki Cup semifinals. The other semifinal pits 2010 champions Malaysia against Vietnam, winners of the 2008 tournament.