Katrina Guillou was in the right place at the right time to save the Philippine Women’s National Football Team from an impending defeat by Costa Rica.
The 5-foot-2 attacking midfielder tapped the ball home in the 90+3 minute to seal a draw for coach Alen Stajcic’s team after the home side initially broke the deadlock in the 57th minute courtesy of Priscila Chinchilla’s fine finish.
“(I had to) put it in any way possible and the ball just landed right on my feet. We were all rebounding,” said Guillou.
“Tahnai (Annis) was right behind me I think, also Sarina (Bolden) was in the box so any of us was ready to just tap it home.”
The result demonstrated the Filipinas’ resilience and mental toughness as they competed to get something out of the game in the very last second.
However, turn it around and it also showed that they are susceptible to poor starts and the halftime break brings a welcome respite.
“Honestly, I think we came out a lot better in the second half. We put them under more pressure,” said the 2022 AFF Women’s Championship gold medalist. “We were getting in behind. We gave them harder times to find their way from the back and we knew it was just a matter of time.
“We just kept on pressing. They were getting a little tired. We were all there for that one last push and we were able to put it away.”
International football’s nature dictates that teams only have a limited time period before they can properly prepare for their matches.
The Filipinas are no different, especially since a lot of them have different club commitments around the world.
With less-than-ideal circumstances, memorable results like this one make things more fulfilling.
“We had a lot of girls coming from different time zones. We had a few days to recover since getting here so we’re still adjusting a little bit,” said Guillou. “But of course playing this team, Costa Rica… we knew their playing style was different from anything we had before.
“I think we adjusted and it’s still a learning experience and we have one more game to go.”
