POWERHOUSE Japan stomped on a gallant but undermanned Philippines 8-1 last Saturday night, but the Filipinas still achieved another milestone in defeat after their quarterfinals clash in the 19th Asian Games women’s football tournament in Wenzhou, China.
At the rainswept Wenzhou Sport Center Stadium, the Filipinas lost skipper and defensive stalwart Hali Long, who was flashed a red card in the 27th minute for tackling Japan’s Momoko Tanikawa from behind just outside the penalty area.
The floodgates finally opened for the Nadeshiko 11 minutes later when Tanikawa converted a penalty kick past goalie Olivia McDaniel off a handball violation by Isabella Pasion, 17, who palmed the ball off a right corner kick, to give the Japanese a 1-0 lead at the break.
The Japanese scoring deluge continued as Mami Ueno ran rampant with goals in the 76th, 78th, 81st, and 91st minutes while Haruka Osawa added a brace (58th and 94th) and Suzu Amano (65th) scored the other goal.
Japan advanced to the semis against China, which beat Thailand 4-0 in the other quarterfinals match.
