It was another mixed day for the Philippine Women’s National Football Team and Philippine Under-19 Men’s Football Team in their respective ASEAN competitions in Indonesia last July 3, 2018.
This time around it was the Malditas’ turn to barge into the win column of the 2018 AFF Women’s Championship with a 3-0 victory over Singapore. In contrast, the U-19 squad suffered a 0-5 thrashing at the hands of Vietnam.
Malditas enjoy comprehensive victory over Singapore
With already one loss under their belt, the Malditas knew they needed to seize all three points against Singapore to advance from Group B. Coach Buda Bautista’s wards did so in great fashion thanks to goals from Joyce Semacio and Quinley Quezada, and an own goal from Singaporean defender Nur Umairah Hamdan.
The Philippines only needed eight minutes to score when Semacio broke through the Singapore backline to give the Filipinas a dream start. Come the second half, a cross by former DLSU Lady Archer Kyla Inquig was turned into her own goal by Hamdan.
Hamdan’s own goal proved to be the clincher for the Filipinas, and Quinley Quezada’s strike soon after ensured all three points went to the Philippines at the Jakabaring Stadium, Palembang.
Bautista shared, “We were not playing well in the first half. We were rushing things. For the next game, we need to have more control and keep our composure.”
Up next for the Filipinas is a date against Vietnam on July 7, 7:00 PM at Jakabaring Stadium.
U-19 squad suffers long afternoon versus Vietnam
Reiji Hirata’s boys were sent crashing back to earth in their latest Group A assignment when they succumbed 0-5 at the Gelora Delta Stadium in Sidoarjo.
All signs pointed towards a tough game for the Filipinos when they failed to break the deadlock as early as the 21st minute following a penalty in the Vietnam box. Chester Angeles stepped up to take the spot-kick, but the Vietnamese goalie denied him with a good stop.
Le Van Nam then rose to the occasion for his team and handed them the lead in the 29th minute. Down a goal at halftime, the Philippines failed to properly show up after the game’s resumption and fell victim to Vietnam’s bombardment.
Le Van Nam added to his tally in the 50th minute while another Vietnamese player, Le Minh Binh, scored a brace in the 54th and 85th minutes. Nguyen Huu Thang was Vietnam’s other goalscorer for the day.
The team hope to recover quickly, as they will face another tough opponent in Indonesia on July 5, 7:00 PM at the Gelora Delta Stadium.
