Amidst the dire circumstances, Quinley Quezada marked a major milestone in the growth of women’s football in the Philippines by being the first Filipina to play in Japan’s 2021-2022 WE League.
Playing as a substitute, Quezada and the rest of JEF United Chiba endured a 0-3 loss at the hands of Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Beleza, Saturday afternoon in front of 1,281 fans at the Fukuda Denshi Arena.
With JEF United losing by two goals, manager Shinji Sarusawa brought on the 5-foot-6 forward to replace Arisa Minamino at the 82nd minute. Quezada had a sniff on goal but her attempt went off target.
“I’m very blessed to be a part of a club that welcomed me with open arms and has already made this experience amazing,” said Quezada. “Excited to keep growing and working hard with this squad. It’s only up from here.”
JEF United Chiba then conceded another goal in stoppage time as its winless start to the campaign is extended. After three games played, the Chiba-based team sits at 10th place on the standings with one point following one draw and two losses.
NTV Tokyo Verde’s goals came from Momoka Kinoshita at the 43rd minute, Rikako Kobayashi at the 65th minute, and Oto Kanno at the 90+3 minute.
“I think it will be a tough match next time, but we have to organize our fights and move forward step by step,” said a translated version of Sarusawa’s comments. “Even in today’s game, I would like to decide what to decide, so I hope that it will be better to score points in our own flow without passing the flow to the opponent.”
Quezada and her teammates hope to barge in the win column for the first time this campaign when it takes on MyNavi Sendai on Saturday, October 9, 2021, at the Yurtec Sendai Stadium in Miyagi, Japan. Kickoff is scheduled at 12:00 NN Manila time.
On the other hand, Sarina Bolden’s team, Chifure AS Elfen Saitama suffered a similar outcome, a 0-3 thrashing against JEF United Chiba’s next opponents, MyNavi Sendai, at the Kumagaya Athletic Stadium in Saitama, Japan.
Bolden, though, has yet to feature on the pitch.
As it stands, Chifure AS Elfen Saitama is at 11th place with 1 point but having played three losses and a draw. Bolden and the rest of the Chifure AS Elfen Saitama seek to get a maiden win when it takes on Nojima Stella on October 10 at 1:00 PM Manila time.
