Nina Mathelus’ impressive two-goal performance ended in disappointment as the Philippine Under-17 Women’s National Team suffered a 2-6 defeat to Australia in the second round of the 2024 AFC U-17 Women’s Asian Cup qualification tournament on Wednesday night in Vietnam.
Mathelus broke the deadlock in the 14th minute of the contest and doubled the Filipinas’ lead in the 17th minute. However, things took a turn for the worse for the Philippines soon after Mathelus scored her second goal.
The Junior Matildas woke up just before the halftime break, with Grace Kuilamu and Ruby Cuthbert leveling the contest by scoring goals in the 30th and 42nd minutes, respectively.
Australia then shifted gears after the halftime break. Shelby McMahon gave the Australians their first taste of the lead in the 46th minute, and they continued their domination by adding three more goals before the match’s conclusion.
Lillian Skelly extended Australia’s lead with a goal in the 55th minute, while Talia Younis and Mikayla Duong sealed the rout with goals in the 75th and 86th minutes, respectively.
As a result, the Philippines now occupies the bottom spot in Group B with zero points and a -4 goal difference, while Australia leads the group with 3 points and a +4 goal difference.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh and Vietnam are currently facing each other as of this writing, with the top two teams from the group advancing to the final tournament.
Both teams will return to action on Friday. The Filipinas will aim to bounce back against Bangladesh at 5:00 PM Manila time, while Australia will face the host nation, Vietnam, at 8:00 PM Manila time.
