The Philippines kicked off their Middle East training camp with a surprising 0-0 draw against 115th ranked Bahrain Friday night at the Al Muharraq Stadium.
Come the second half, Bahrain pushed for the go ahead goal but the back four composed of Ray Jonsson, Gier, Juan Luis Guirado and Dennis Cagara denied every wave of Bahrain attack.
Bahrain almost took a shock lead in the 15th minute a shot by a Bahrain player have already beaten goalkeeper Roland Muller only to be cleared by Rob Gier.
Denis Wolf, who was the top scorer during the Peace Cup, then missed a golden chance in the 30th minute after successfully evading the offside trap only to be denied by the goalkeeper in a one-on-one situation.
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Wolf again had another chance in the 72nd minute after substitute Misagh Bahadoran fed him the ball, however he mistimed his step and slipped inside the penalty area.
One last chance came begging from the Philippines coming from Bahadoran who fed the ball to OJ Porteria in the 90th minute only seeing his shot end up straight to the goalkeeper.
The Philippines’ first draw against a much higher-ranked team set up a much more intriguing tie against World Cup Qualifiers conqueror Kuwait on Tuesday.
Despite the draw, the Philippines gave a very good showing as it prepared for the AFF Suzuki Cup this coming November.