Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 8) – The Philippine women’s football team remains unbeaten in three games after another statement win, this time at the expense of Malaysia.
The Philippines dominated Malaysia, 4-0, in the AFF Women’s Championship 2022 on Friday at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.
With two games left in their Group A stage campaign, the Filipinas have kept the top spot with nine points.
Sara Eggesvik scored her second international goal for the Philippines in the 32nd minute with a long range shot while racing past the halfway line on a running attack.
The Filipino-Norwegian midfielder, who is playing her first cap for the Philippines in the regional tiff, is one of six goal scorers in their 7-0 demolition of Singapore in their previous game.
Malaysian goalkeeper Nurul Mazlan protested the goal after she deflected twice the ball from Eggesvik’s powerful lengthy strike, but the replay showed the ball bounced inside the goal box.
Just two minutes before halftime, Katrina Guillou doubled the Filipinas’ lead in the 43rd minute with an open follow-up strike near the box off a missed running goal attempt by team captain Tahnai Annis in the right flank.
The Filipinas continued to assert their hold of the ball at the start of the second half, with Eggesvik delivering a calculated cross to national team veteran Quinley Quezada, who stuffed the comfortable header goal inside the box in the 47th minute.
Eggesvik made another instrumental assist in the 72nd minute to Anicka Castañeda, who let past her Malaysian defenders to score another header goal right at the middle of the box.
Despite sitting out key defenders Hali Long and Dominique Randle, the Philippine backline displayed strength in preventing Malaysia to produce shots on target and maintain their assertiveness to the ball until the final whistle.
The Filipinas fired a whopping 25 shots and blanked their Malaysian foes in that department.
“We played some good football patches for sure, but this is not an easy game,” Filipinas head coach Alen Stajcic said after the game despite the resounding victory..
The Filipinas can punch a semifinal ticket as they tangle with Indonesia in their next group stage game on Sunday.
The Filipina booters thrashed their Indonesian opponents, 6-0, in their last matchup at the 2022 AFC Women’s Asian Cup in January.
