Areola loses Premier League debut, Falkesgaard beats Deyto in Thailand
Neil Etheridge had a clean sheet in his Birmingham City FC debut to highlight a busy Saturday for Filipino goalkeepers overseas.
The Philippine Azkals veteran earned a point for Birmingham after battling home side Swansea to a scoreless draw in their EFL Championship match at Liberty Stadium.
Etheridge thwarted Swansea’s late attempts to get the full three points in the final minutes to cap off his first appearance with the club since completing a transfer move from Cardiff City last week.
“It was great for me to keep a clean sheet and make those sort of saves,” Etheridge said, though opting instead to praise the defenders for providing additional help.
“Ultimately, it as about the team, the boys at the back did a fantastic job,” added Etheridge, whose team improved to four points after two matches.
Fil-French Alphonse Areola had a rough English Premier League debut for Fulham after losing 4-3 away to Leeds United at Elland Road.
Areola saw Leeds score three consecutive goals in between the first and second half to fall behind 4-1 before Fulham fell short in a late bid to salvage a draw.
The member of France’s 2018 World Cup-winning side played for the second straight time after manning the sticks in Fulham’s 1-0 victory over Ipswich Town at midweek in the second round of the League Cup.
Over in Thailand, Michael Falkesgaard and Bangkok United edged Patrick Deyto and Suphanburi 2-1 in their second week of the Thai League 1 season.
Falkesgaard and Deyto are among the 12 Filipinos playing in Thailand’s domestic season which finally started last week with the country having one of the fewest COVID-19 cases in Southeast Asia.