View source for 2014 AFC Challenge Cup final

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{Infobox football match
| title                   = 2014 AFC Challenge Cup Final
| other_titles            =
| image                   = Galolhu Dhandu.jpg
| image_size = 250
| caption                 = The [[National Football Stadium (Maldives)|National Football Stadium]] where it was held.
| event                   = [[2014 AFC Challenge Cup]]
| team1                   = [[Palestine national football team|Palestine]]
| team1association        = {{flagicon|PLE|size=30px}}
| team1score              = 1
| team2                   = [[Philippines national football team|Philippines]]
| team2association        = {{flagicon|PHI|size=30px}}
| team2score              = 0
| date                    = 30 May 2014
| stadium                 = [[National Football Stadium (Maldives)|National Football Stadium]]
| city                    = [[Malé]]
| referee                 = [[Valentin Kovalenko]] ([[Uzbekistan Football Federation|Uzbekistan]])
| attendance              = 6,500
| weather                 = Cloudy<br />{{convert|28|°C|°F}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/VRMM/2014/3/30/MonthlyHistory.html?req_city=NA&req_state=NA&req_statename=NA|title=History for Malé, Maldives|publisher=[[Weather Underground (weather service)|Weather Underground]]|accessdate=14 July 2014}}</ref>
| previous                = [[2012 AFC Challenge Cup Final|2012]]
}}
The '''2014 AFC Challenge Cup Final''' was an [[association football]] match between [[Palestine national football team|Palestine]] and the [[Philippines national football team|Philippines]] on 30 May 2014 at the [[National Football Stadium (Maldives)|National Football Stadium]] in [[Malé]], Maldives.

==Background==
The [[AFC Challenge Cup]] was an international football competition for [[Asian Football Confederation]] (AFC) nations that was categorized as "emerging countries" in the "Vision Asia" program.<ref name="emerging">{{cite web|url=http://www.the-afc.com/en/vision-asia-philosophy|title=Vision Asia Philosophy|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121016084949/http://www.the-afc.com/en/vision-asia-philosophy|archivedate=16 October 2012|publisher=[[Asian Football Confederation]]|date=31 August 2007|accessdate=14 July 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> It was an idea by former AFC president, [[Mohammed Bin Hammam]] which its goal to raise the standards of Asian football at all levels.<ref name="emerging" /> The AFC Challenge Cup, which reflected the philosophy of "Vision Asia", was created for teams to experience playing in a continental competition with the possibility to win an AFC trophy and potentially discover new talent.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.the-afc.com/en/challenge-cup-previous-competitions/afc-challenge-cup-2006/afc-challenge-cup-2006-competition-information|title=AFC Challenge Cup in 2006 Competition Information|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120902105512/http://www.the-afc.com/en/challenge-cup-previous-competitions/afc-challenge-cup-2006/afc-challenge-cup-2006-competition-information|archivedate=2 September 2012|publisher=[[Asian Football Confederation]]|date=5 September 2007|accessdate=14 July 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> It was held in every two years as its inaugural edition took place on 2006 in Bangladesh.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.the-afc.com/english/media/default.asp?mnsection=media&section=newsDetails&newsID=4586|title=AFC Challenge Cup opening ceremony in Bangladesh|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930235259/http://www.the-afc.com/english/media/default.asp?mnsection=media&section=newsDetails&newsID=4586|archivedate=30 September 2007|publisher=[[Asian Football Confederation]]|date=28 November 2005|accessdate=15 July 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> This 2014 Challenge Cup was the last season, due to the expansion of participating national teams in the [[AFC Asian Cup]] from 16 to 24.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.the-afc.com/en/about-afc/afc-departments/competitions-division/27547-revamp-of-afc-competitions.html |title=Revamp of AFC competitions |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140203183006/http://www.the-afc.com/en/about-afc/afc-departments/competitions-division/27547-revamp-of-afc-competitions.html |archivedate=3 February 2014 |publisher=[[Asian Football Confederation]] |date=25 January 2014 |accessdate=15 July 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Maldives won the hosting rights, with two renovated stadiums ([[Addu Football Stadium]] and [[National Football Stadium (Maldives)|National Football Stadium]]) were used as venues in the tournament.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.the-afc.com/competitions-division/maldives-to-host-2014-afc-challenge-cup|title=Maldives to Host 2014 AFC Challenge Cup|publisher=[[Asian Football Confederation]]|date=28 November 2012|accessdate=3 January 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sun.mv/english/22059|title=Zone Stadium rebranded as Addu Football Stadium|work=Sun Online|date=18 May 2014|accessdate=3 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140519152342/http://www.sun.mv/english/22059|archive-date=19 May 2014|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> The winner qualifies for the [[2015 AFC Asian Cup]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.the-afc.com/en/about-afc/afc-departments/media-communications/media-releases/689-media-releases/24345-afc-asian-cup-australia-2015-preliminary-draw-results.html|title=AFC Asian Cup Australia 2015 preliminary draw results|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131212193358/http://www.the-afc.com/en/about-afc/afc-departments/media-communications/media-releases/689-media-releases/24345-afc-asian-cup-australia-2015-preliminary-draw-results.html|archivedate=12 December 2013|publisher=[[Asian Football Confederation]]|date=9 October 2012|accessdate=16 July 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>

The two countries met twice before the finals match.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://int.soccerway.com/matches/2014/05/30/asia/afc-challenge-cup/palestine/philippines/1649090/head2head/|title=Head to Head Stats of Palestine v. Philippines|work=Soccerway|accessdate=16 July 2014}}</ref> Their first meeting was in the [[2012 AFC Challenge Cup qualification|qualification phase of the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup]] on 23 March 2011 which ended in a goalless draw.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.the-afc.com/en/afc-challenge-cup-relive-2012/24694-philippines-vs-palestine.html|title=Philippines 0–0 Palestine|publisher=[[Asian Football Confederation]]|date=23 March 2011|accessdate=16 July 2014}}</ref> While their second match together was at the [[2012 AFC Challenge Cup]] third-place playoff, where the Filipinos won the game, 4–3.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.goal.com/en/match/philippines-vs-palestine/1265215/live-commentary?ICID=MP_MS_3|title=Live Commentary of Philippines v. Palestine (2012)|publisher=Goal|accessdate=16 July 2014}}</ref> That result causes the Philippines to grab their best finish yet in a major tournament and in the Challenge Cup.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/251989/sports/football/phl-azkals-seize-3rd-place-in-afc-challenge-cup-with-4-3-win-vs-palestine|title=PHL Azkals seize 3rd place in AFC Challenge Cup with 4-3 win vs. Palestine|publisher=[[GMA News Online]]|date=19 March 2012|accessdate=16 July 2014}}</ref> [[Michael Weiß (football manager)|Michael Weiss]], then [[head coach]] of the Philippines congratulated his team by "showing their fighting spirit" throughout the game.<ref name=reaction>{{cite web|url=http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/sports/03/19/12/azkals-lead-palestine-3-1-halftime|title=Azkals make history, finish 3rd in Challenge Cup|author=Naredo, Camille|work=[[ABS-CBN News]]|publisher=[[ABS-CBN Corporation]]|date=19 March 2012|accessdate=3 January 2015}}</ref> He later admitted that "[he did not] expected the match to go that way".<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.the-afc.com/afc-challenge-cup-2012/weiss-gripped-by-third-place-thriller|title=Weiss Gripped by Third Place Thriller|publisher=[[Asian Football Confederation]]|date=19 March 2012|accessdate=24 January 2015}}</ref> While, Palestine head coach [[Jamal Mahmoud]] described their last game against them was "the worst game that we ever played in international football".<ref name=reaction /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.the-afc.com/afc-challenge-cup-2012/we-saved-our-worst-for-last|title=We saved our worst for last!|publisher=[[Asian Football Confederation]]|date=19 March 2014|accessdate=24 January 2015}}</ref> Like the Philippines, Palestine also made history as they were the first West Asian team to be in the knockout stage of the tournament.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rappler.com/sports/2701-azkals-bring-home-bronze,-pride-for-ph|title=Azkals bring home bronze, pride for PH|author=Gutierrez, Natashya|publisher=[[Rappler]]|date=26 June 2012|accessdate=23 January 2015}}</ref> The Philippines were considered the "favorites" heading towards the game. Goal.com predicted that the Filipinos were more likely to beat Palestine in a 2–1 scoreline.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.goal.com/en/match/palestine-vs-philippines/1649090/preview|title=Preview Report of Palestine v. Philippines (2014)|publisher=Goal|accessdate=16 July 2014}}</ref>

==Route to the final==
{{details|2014 AFC Challenge Cup qualification|2014 AFC Challenge Cup}}

Before going to the main contest proper, all participating countries except [[Maldives national football team|Maldives]] competed in a qualifying round.<ref name="rules">{{cite web|url=http://www.the-afc.com/sites/default/files/afc_challenge_cup_regulations.pdf|title=AFC Challenge Cup 2014 Competition Regulations|publisher=[[Asian Football Confederation]]|pages=18–19, 25|accessdate=3 January 2015}}</ref> Twenty nations confirmed their interest to take part in the AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.the-afc.com/afc-challenge-cup-2014-northern-mariana-islands/northern-mariana-debuts-in-challenge-cup|title=Northern Mariana Debuts in Challenge Cup|publisher=[[Asian Football Confederation]]|date=14 September 2012|accessdate=3 January 2015}}</ref> with [[Brunei national football team|Brunei]] withdrawing a day before the qualifiers citing "unavoidable circumstances".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aseanfootball.org/v2/?p=12428|title=Brunei Withdraw from AFC Challenge Cup Qualifiers|author=Begawan, Bandar|publisher=[[ASEAN Football Federation]]|date=21 March 2013|accessdate=3 January 2015}}</ref> The winner of each group, and the best and better ranked second placed teams qualified for the AFC Challenge Cup proper. The teams in the group stages was trimmed down to eight, with the first and second ranked teams of each group advancing to the knockout stage.<ref name="rules"/>

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
!colspan=2|{{fb|PLE}}
!Round
!colspan=2|{{fb|PHI}}
|-bgcolor=#c1e0ff
|colspan=5|'''[[2014 AFC Challenge Cup|AFC Challenge Cup]]'''
|-
|-bgcolor=#c1e0ff
|Opponent
|Result
|[[2014 AFC Challenge Cup qualification|Qualifying round]]
|Opponent
|Result<!--Five columns-->
|-
|align=left|{{fb|BAN}}
|1–0
|bgcolor=#c1e0ff|Qualifying Matchday 1
|align=left|{{fb|BRU}}
|Cancelled
|-
|align=left|{{fb|NMI}}
|9–0
|bgcolor=#c1e0ff|Qualifying Matchday 2
|align=left|{{fb|CAM}}
|8–0
|-
|align=left|{{fb|NEP}}
|0–0
|bgcolor=#c1e0ff|Qualifying Matchday 3
|align=left|{{fb|TKM}}
|1–0
|-
|colspan=2 align=center valign=top|'''[[2014 AFC Challenge Cup qualification#Group D|Group D]] first place'''
{{:2014 AFC Challenge Cup qualification|transcludesection=Group D|showteam=PLE}}
|bgcolor=#c1e0ff|Qualifying round standings
|colspan=2 align=center valign=top|'''[[2014 AFC Challenge Cup qualification#Group E|Group E]] first place'''
{{:2014 AFC Challenge Cup qualification|transcludesection=Group E|showteam=PHI}}
|-bgcolor=#c1e0ff
|Opponent
|Result
|[[2014 AFC Challenge Cup#Group stage|Group stage]]
|Opponent
|Result<!--Five columns-->
|-
|align=left|{{fb|KGZ}}
|1–0
|bgcolor=#c1e0ff|Matchday 1
|align=left|{{fb|AFG|2013}}
|0–0
|-
|align=left|{{fb|MYA}}
|2–0
|bgcolor=#c1e0ff|Matchday 2
|align=left|{{fb|LAO}}
|2–0
|-
|align=left|{{fb|MDV}}
|0–0
|bgcolor=#c1e0ff|Matchday 3
|align=left|{{fb|TKM}}
|2–0
|-
|colspan=2 align=center valign=top|'''[[2014 AFC Challenge Cup#Group A|Group A]] first place'''
{{:2014 AFC Challenge Cup|transcludesection=Group A|showteam=PLE}}
|bgcolor=#c1e0ff|Final standings
|colspan=2 align=center valign=top|'''[[2014 AFC Challenge Cup#Group B|Group B]] first place'''
{{:2014 AFC Challenge Cup|transcludesection=Group B|showteam=PHI}}
|-bgcolor=#c1e0ff
|Opponent
|Result
|[[2014 AFC Challenge Cup#Knockout stage|Knockout stage]]
|Opponent
|Result<!--Five columns-->
|-
|align=left|{{fb|AFG|2013}}
|2–0
|bgcolor=#c1e0ff|[[2014 AFC Challenge Cup#Semi-finals|Semi-finals]]
|align=left|{{fb|MDV}}
|3–2 ([[After extra time|aet]])
|-
|}

==Match==
{{Football box
| date         = {{Start date|2014|5|30|df=y}}
| time         = 21:00 [[UTC+05:00|MVT]]
| team1        = {{fb-rt|PLE}}
| team2        = {{fb|PHI}}
| score        = 1–0
| goals1       = [[Ashraf Nu'man|Nu'man]] {{goal|64}}
| goals2       =
| stadium      = [[National Football Stadium (Maldives)|National Football Stadium]], [[Malé]]
| attendance   = 6,300
| referee      = [[Valentin Kovalenko]] ([[Uzbekistan Football Federation|Uzbekistan]])
| report       = [http://www.the-afc.com/afcasfeeds?fixtureid=8206&stageid=325&tMode=C&view=ajax&show=matchsummary Report]
}}

{| width=92% |
|-
|{{Football kit
| pattern_la   = _uhlsport_liga_white
| pattern_b    = _uhlsport_liga_white
| pattern_ra   = _uhlsport_liga_white
| pattern_sh   =
| pattern_so   = _band white
| leftarm      = FF0000
| body         = FF0000
| rightarm     = FF0000
| shorts       = FF0000
| socks        = FF0000
|title         = Palestine
}}
|{{Football kit
|leftarm    = FFFFFF
|pattern_la =
|body       = FFFFFF
|pattern_b  = _AzkPC14b
|rightarm   = FFFFFF
|pattern_ra =
|shorts     = FFFFFF
|pattern_sh = _AzkPC13b
|socks      = FFFFFF
|pattern_so = 
|title      = Philippines
}}
|}

{| width="100%"
|valign="top" width="50%"|
{| style="font-size: 90%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"

!width=25| !!width=25|
|-
|GK ||'''21''' || [[Ramzi Saleh]] ([[Captain (association football)|c]])
|-
|DF ||'''2'''  || [[Raed Fares]]
|-
|DF ||'''15''' || [[Abdelatif Bahdari]]
|-
|DF ||'''16''' || [[Haytham Theeb]]
|-
|MF ||'''14''' || [[Abdullah Jaber]]
|-
|MF ||'''19''' || [[Abdelhamid Abuhabib]] || {{yel|83}} || {{suboff|86}}
|-
|MF ||'''20''' || [[Khader Yousef]]
|-
|MF ||'''23''' || [[Murad Ismail Said]]
|-
|MF ||'''8'''  || [[Hilal Musa]] || || {{suboff|77}}
|-
|FW ||'''10''' || [[Imad Zatara]] || || {{suboff|90+1}}
|-
|FW ||'''7'''  || [[Ashraf Nu'man]] || {{yel|90+4}}
|-
|colspan=3|'''Substitutes:'''
|-
|GK ||'''1'''  || [[Tawfiq Ali]]
|-
|GK ||'''22''' || [[Ghanem Mahajneh]]
|-
|DF ||'''3'''  || [[Hussam Abu Saleh]] || || {{subon|77}}
|-
|DF ||'''5'''  || [[Omar Jarun]] || || {{subon|90+1}}
|-
|DF ||'''6'''  || [[Mousa Abu Jazar]] || || {{subon|86}}
|-
|DF ||'''13''' || [[Khaled Mahdi (footballer)|Khaled Mahdi]]
|-
|DF ||'''18''' || [[Mus'ab Al-Batat]]
|-
|FW ||'''9'''  || [[Tamer Seyam]]
|-
|FW ||'''11''' || [[Ahmad Maher Wridat]]
|-
|FW ||'''17''' || [[Rami Musalmeh]]
|-
|colspan=3|'''Head coach:'''
|-
|colspan=4|{{flagicon|JOR}} [[Jamal Mahmoud]]
|-
|colspan=3|'''Manager:'''
|-
|colspan=4|[[Abdallah Alfara]]
|}
|valign="top"|
|valign="top" width="50%"|
{| style="font-size: 90%; margin: auto;" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"
|-
!width=25| !!width=25|
|-
|GK ||'''15''' || [[Roland Müller]]
|-
|RB ||'''23''' || [[Simone Rota]] || || {{suboff|82}}
|-
|CB ||'''12''' || [[Amani Aguinaldo]]
|-
|CB ||'''2'''  || [[Rob Gier]] ([[Captain (association football)|c]])
|-
|LB ||'''21''' || [[Martin Steuble]] || {{yel|90+5}}
|-
|RM ||'''11''' || [[Patrick Reichelt]] || {{yel|69}}
|-
|CM ||'''6'''  || [[Jason de Jong]]
|-
|LM ||'''3'''  || [[Daisuke Sato (footballer)|Daisuke Sato]]
|-
|AM ||'''22''' || [[Paul Mulders]] || || {{suboff|73}}
|-
|AM ||'''17''' || [[Stephan Schröck]] || || {{suboff|46}}
|-
|CF ||'''10''' || [[Phil Younghusband]]
|-
|colspan=3|'''Substitutes:'''
|-
|GK ||'''1'''  || [[Neil Etheridge]]
|-
|GK ||'''16''' || [[Patrick Deyto]]
|-
|DF ||'''4'''  || [[Anton del Rosario]]
|-
|DF ||'''5'''  || [[Juan Luis Guirado|Juan Guirado]]
|-
|MF ||'''7'''  || [[James Younghusband]]
|-
|MF ||'''14''' || [[Simon Greatwich]]
|-
|MF ||'''18''' || [[Chris Greatwich]]
|-
|MF ||'''19''' || [[Jerry Lucena]] || || {{subon|46}}
|-
|MF ||'''20''' || [[OJ Porteria]] || || {{subon|73}}
|-
|FW ||'''9'''  || [[Kenshiro Daniels]] || || {{subon|82}}
|-
|FW ||'''13''' || [[Ruben Doctora]]
|-
|colspan=3|'''Head coach:'''
|-
|colspan=4|{{flagicon|USA}} [[Thomas Dooley]]
|-
|colspan=3|'''Manager:'''
|-
|colspan=4|[[Dan Palami]]
|}
|}

{| width=100% style="font-size: 90%"
|
'''Assistant referees:'''
<br />Rafael Ilyasov ([[Uzbekistan Football Federation|Uzbekistan]])
<br />Lee Jung-min ([[Korea Football Association|South Korea]])
<br />'''Fourth official:'''
<br />[[Ko Hyung-jin]] ([[Korea Football Association|South Korea]])
| width=55% valign=top|
'''Match rules'''<ref name="rules"/>
*90 minutes.
*30 minutes of [[Extra time (association football)|extra time]] if necessary.
*[[Penalty shoot-out (association football)|Penalty shoot-out]] if scores still level.
*Maximum of twelve named substitutes.
*Maximum of three substitutions.
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{AFC Challenge Cup}}
{{Palestine national football team}}
{{Philippines national football team}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:AFC Challenge Cup}}
[[Category:2014 AFC Challenge Cup|Final]]
[[Category:AFC Challenge Cup finals|2014]]
[[Category:Palestine national football team matches|2014]]
[[Category:Philippines national football team matches|2014]]
[[Category:2013–14 in Palestinian football]]
[[Category:2014 in Philippine football]]
[[Category:May 2014 sports events in Asia]]