WELLINGTON. – Australian coach Alen Stajcic gave his charges until midnight, like Cinderella, to revel and celebrate their epic 1-0 win over the hometown Ferns that kept them in contention in Group A of the FIFA Women’s World Cup at the Sky Stadium here Tuesday.
“There is no celebration, to be honest, and it has been the same for the last 18 months,” Stajcic said after the Filipinas scored an odds-defying victory over the stunned hosts in front of their equally shocked hometown crowd.
“You win, lose or draw, we can always cheer or cry till midnight and the next day is a new day,” said the Australian drillmaster, who allowed the players to celebrate with their family members who came all the way Down Under to witness them achieve a new level of sports history.
The Filipinas won their first World Cup game in only their second match, a feat that some countries have labored longer to attain in this football festival featuring the best female footballers in the world.
“They (with their relatives) will celebrate and enjoy this special moment but tomorrow it’s back to work,” he said, underscoring the fact that they could not rest on their latest laurel since the stakes are so much higher now.
With Switzerland battling Norway to a scoreless draw in Hamilton also last Tuesday, Group A has been blown wide open, with the top two finishers from the group decided only after qualification matches on Sunday.
The Swiss, who scored a 0-2 victory over the Filipinas, are on top with four points on a win and a draw, the Ferns and Filipinas are running second with three points with 1-1 win-loss cards while the pre-tournament favorite Norwegians are in last place with one point in two matches.
“The job is not yet over and it is very important that we switch back into competition mode and think now about what we have to do in the last game to try and squeeze out of this group,” said Stajcic of the desperate Norwegians, who have the highest FIFA world ranking among the squads in the group at No. 12.
“This is such a monumental task for us to go up against them especially when it is just the third game in a little over a week to recover physically, let alone from the emotion of tonight,” he noted.
Ever confident that his charges would rise to the new challenge, the coach stressed that “this team has gained a lot of tournament experience in the last 18 months, winning the AFF Women’s Championship (last year), an Asian Cup and two Southeast Asian Games.
“I think you’ve seen that maturity and growth not only in the way they play but also in the way they talk and carry themselves on and off the field.”
