IT was a hard climb to the top.
The Filipinas needed to humble a trio of Asian football titans to get to the summit of the 12th Asean Football Federation Women’s Championship, capped by their stirring 3-0 triumph over four-time champion Thailand at the packed Rizal Memorial Stadium Sunday night.
All ranked higher than the host squad in the FIFA world ratings, Australia (No. 12), erstwhile defending champion Vietnam (No. 32) and Thailand (No. 43) fell one by one to the irrepressible charges of Australian coach Alen Stajcic, who stood several notches below at No. 53.
With Stajcic masterfully orchestrating the campaign, the Filipinas ripped through the form chart, beginning with their massive 1-0 upset of the Matildas on opening day of the 11-nation tournament last July 4.
So stunned were the players from Down Under, tipped as the early pre-tournament picks, they never recovered from that reversal and, after a 2-all standoff with Thailand in their next match, prematurely exited the competition.
Playing every other day in what Stajcic rued was a grueling schedule that he had never experienced before in international play, the Aussie tactician was forced to juggle his roster.
The Filipinas responded well, beating Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia in succession by lopsided scores of 7-0, 4-0 and 4-1, respectively.
Waiting for them in their final Group A game were the Thais, coached by low-key yet effective Japanese mentor Miya Okamoto, who also picked up three straight wins following their stalemate with the Aussies.
The two squads battled for group top spot last July 12, with the group topnotchers likely avoiding facing defending champion Vietnam, which was expected to top Group B, in the semifinals two days later.
But the Filipinas suffered a rare defensive lapse, enabling the Thais to escape with a slim 1-0 decision and consigning their rivals to a dreaded semifinal clash with the vaunted Vietnamese, who topped Group B with a 4-0 shutout of Myanmar a day later.
“This is what happens when you play against tough international teams such as Thailand. We got punished by one error. But we have to move on and bounce back,” Stajcic noted at the post-match press conference.
The odds were certainly not in favor of the Filipinas, who had lost to Vietnam in seven straight meetings in the AFF Women’s Championship, although the last was a close 1-2 decision when they met in the group stage of the 2019 edition in Chonburi, Thailand.
But in front of over 3,000 animated fans at the Rizal Stadium, the hosts pulled off one of the greatest national escapes ever witnessed on home pitch with a thorough 4-0 thrashing of the Vietnamese, a knockout blow nobody never saw coming.
Veteran defender Hali Long rattled the wards of coach Mai Duc Chung with her superb header in the 31st minute off an excellent corner kick by skipper Tahnai Annis, who coolly followed it up with a 51st minute penalty kick.
Inspirational striker Sarina Bolden completed Vietnam’s downfall with a pair of headers in the 61st and 70th minutes as the Filipinos forged a grudge rematch with Thailand, which handily dispatched Myanmar 2-0 in the other semis match, for the glittering AFF Women’s Championship trophy.
“This was a complete performance by our team but we have to recover quickly because the big one is up next,” Stajcic said of the championship clash with the four-time champions.
Showing his emotions on his sleeve, the Aussie tactician was not content with just a finals appearance for the Filipinas, stressing, “I’m greedy and hungry for more.”
Feeding off the energy of 8,257 lively fans that filled the stadium Sunday night, the Filipinas cut the Thais down to size 3-0, with defender Jessika Cowart bulldozing her way to give the Philippines the early lead with a header in the 31st minute.
Despite being tightly marked, Katrina Guillou poured on the pressure by knocking in the second marker in the 31st minute before Bolden delivered the coup de grace with — what else? — a header in the 89th, sealing the country’s first major international football championship.
