Borromeo, Schrock suspended for first leg vs. Kuwait

Already up against a formidable foe, the Azkals' job just got tougher after the Asian Football Confederation confirmed the suspension of team captain and defender Aly Borromeo and midfielder Stephan Schrock for the first leg of the Philippines-Kuwait second-round 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying series.

This was confirmed yesterday AFC match commissioner Cathy Rivilla, who received an e-mail from the AFC Competitions Officer of the National Teams Competition Department saying that yellow cards received by players in Rounds 1 and 2 will be carried over.

The first leg will be on July 23 in Kuwait. Both players, though, will suit up for the second leg in Manila on July 28.

Borromeo and Schrock both received their second yellow cards during the Azkals' 4-0 thrashing of Sri Lanka last Sunday. Schrock's yellow card came in the first half after the Fil-German got engaged in a heated verbal tussle with a Sri Lankan striker that led to the two pressing their foreheads against each other while exchanging choice words. Borromeo was booked in the middle of the second half for a foul at midfield, although replays showed contact was probably not that rough to warrant a yellow card.

After the match, Azkals coach Hans Michael Weiss expressed optimism that his two players would not be suspended. "Normally, it's a qualifier. It shouldn't be carried over. We will see."

Weiss added at the time that if suspensions are indeed meted out, he will tap Jerry Lucena and Ray Jonsson on defense and move Paul Mulders at the central midfield position. Mulders played left back last Sunday.

Lucena, a Fil-Danish player, and Jonsson, from Iceland, have both seen extensive action as defenders for their respective professional clubs in Europe.

"I'm not too worried," said the German coach. "Of course, it's a handicap for us. It's a setback. But we are Azkals and we are used to dealing with difficult situations. Every game is different and every player now is extremely happy to be in the starting 11.

"I think nevertheless, we should look forward to a bigger challenge. Kuwait will be a very, very strong opponent and we have to step up more than 10, 20, 30%. If not we will have a difficult time against this opponent."

The twin suspensions also gave a valuable lesson to the team. Commenting on television, analyst Darren Hartmann noted that as soon as the outcome was already decided, specifically after Phil Younghusband had made it 4-0, it might have been better for Borromeo — and any other player that already had one yellow card - to be substituted right away to avoid getting slapped with a costly second yellow card. As it happened, the Azkals skipper was booked around 11 minutes after Younghusband's second goal.

Sid Ventura, Sportsaholic