The Philippine Women’s National Football team experienced first hand what it was like to be part of the 2018 AFC Asia Women’s Cup when they bowed down 1-5 against tournament hosts Jordan.
De La Salle Zobel substitute forward Alisha del Campo (90+1′) scored in stoppage time to restore some pride for the Filipinas after a dreadful afternoon at the Republican Central Stadium, Dushanbe, Tajikistan.
In contrast, Luna Almasri (15′ & 48′), Stephanie Alnaber (67′) and Maysa Jbarah (29′ & 37′) provided the goals for the Jordanians.
While the result is painful reading for the Pearl of the Orient, what matters is that its ticket to main dance has already been booked courtesy of last Monday’s draw against Bahrain.
Ominous signs were there early in the game that the Philippines had a battle if it wanted to survive Jordan’s bombardment. Goalkeeper Inna Palacios was busy throughout the game and it took only Jordan a quarter of an hour to open the floodgates.
The circumstances then got worse for the Filipinas. Jbarah struck a powerful shot near the half-hour mark and tripled the Jordanians’ advantage eight minutes later with another fine finish. It was as if the Philippines were outplayed at every part of the pitch in what was a reality check.
Things didn’t get kinder for the Filipinas after the break. Just three minutes into the restart, Almasri secured a brace of her own when she shot past Palacios who was rendered helpless with the attempt.
Almasri wasn’t done being a threat to the Filipinas. This time she provided an assist towards her captain Alnaber who calmly directed the ball home. With nothing to play for except pride, Del Campo was brought in for defender Mary Duran to help at least get a goal back.
Del Campo did just that in the first minute of stoppage time although it was a case of too little too late. The Philippines lost 1-5 to Jordan in what was nothing short of a teaser for the former in the Asian Cup.
And while the Filipinas have achieved so much in just a short span of time, this result proves that there is still a long road ahead for them if they want to cement their status as one of the best trams in the continent.
Philippines XI: Palacios, Lim, Dolino, Long, Sudaria, Tomanon, Parado, Madarang, Impelido, Duran, Castañeda
Jordan XI: Alshalbe, Khalil, Almasri, Alsufy, Khair, Alnaber, Jbarah, Jebreen, Majali, Shajli, Tasneem
