The rain did not deter the Filipino and Nepalese communities turning out to witness a thriller as the Azkalroos came from behind to defeat the NSW Nepalese All-stars 2-1 at Five Sports Complex in Caringbah on Sunday November 17.
The NSW Nepalese All-stars started strongly scoring in the first two minutes courtesy of striker Aamos Newar and maintained strong pressure with several close chances.
The Azkalroos composed with a brilliant goal to Luis Abadia to leave the score 1-1 at the halftime break.
After the break the Azkalroos struck early through Loverney Bedia and the match see sawed until the end with both teams creating solid opportunities to be denied by great goalkeeping from both teams.
Azkalroos coach Andrew Fletcher said “I was thrilled with the way we were able to overcome a very strong Nepalese team. To come from behind was a testimony to their character and a big thanks to the Filipino community for their support.”
NSW Nepalese Allstars coach Luiz Ramalho said “Our team fought till the end and they have been a pleasure to coach. This was their first time playing together and there are many positives to take forward.”
The coaches’ selection for man of the match was John Kanayama for the Azkalroos and Sangya Sherpa for the NSW Nepalese Allstars.
The Youth (14-16 year olds) Teams game saw a convincing 3-0 win to a very skilful & well organised Azkalroos Team superbly led by Arlo Dimaculangan.
The matches were preceded by specialised coaching for juniors of both communities and the day served as a successful fundraiser for Typhoon Yolanda victims with the Azkalroos working with the Philippine Australian Sports & Culture Inc (PASCI) & Worldwide Filipino Alliance (WFA).
A minute’s silence was observed prior to the main game with the Azkalroos players wearing black armbands in commemoration. The Filipino anthem was sung by Melanie Balagtas who was recently crowned Miss Philippines Australia.
The Azkalroos v NSW Nepalese Allstars game was jointly organised by the Azkalroos and Australian Nepalese Football Association (ANFA) with the objective of bringing the communities together around the best community players and tomorrow’s stars.
The Azkalroos name is derived from the ‘Azkals’ the nickname for the Philippines national football team. The Azkals are currently in contention to qualify for the AFC Asian Cup 2015 and some of the best Filipino Australian players will travel to Manila next year to trial for the Azkals to follow in the footsteps of Azkalroos coach Leigh Gunn who represented the Azkals on 10 occasions.
Antoinette Chow, Executive Officer of St George Migrant Resource Centre said “We were delighted to support this event that was played in the right spirit and brought both communities together in harmony.”
The Azkalroos v Nepalese All-stars game is proudly supported by the Azkalroos, Australian Nepalese Football Association (ANFA), St George Migrant Resource Centre, 5 Sports Caringbah, Team Rhino, Philippine Australian Sports & Culture INC Western Sydney Wanderers, Red Elephant Projects and the AFC Asian Cup 2015.