FOR 74 minutes, the Philippines played the kind of attractive football that had carried them to four straight wins and the lead in Group A of the Asean Football Federation Women’s Football Championship.
But it unraveled for the Filipinas, who suffered a rare defensive lapse in the 75th minute, enabling Thailand to steal a crucial 1-0 win and the top spot in the group before around 4,000 disappointed hometown fans at the Rizal Memorial Stadium on Tuesday night.
Defenders Dominique Randle and Sofia Harrison failed to clear a high ball inside the box and striker Kanyanat Chettabutr scored what turned out to be the winning header in the 75th minute, boosting the Thais to the top of the group with 13 points on four wins and one draw.
The Filipinas, who had their own solid chances of scoring throughout, saw their four-game winning streak snapped at the wrong time and slipped into second place with 12 points in five matches at the close of Group A play.
The loss was a big disappointment for a bunch of local fans, the biggest yet, who were keen on inspiring the home side to victory.
Until that miscue, the Filipinas looked set to upend the four-time AFF Women’s tournament queens or at least looked headed for a well-earned draw to retain group leadership.
Although they switched places at the 1-2 spots, both squads qualified for the crossover semifinals this Friday.
Which team either side will face in the semis will be decided Wednesday when defending champion Vietnam and Myanmar, both with three wins each, battle for Group B honors also at the Rizal Stadium.
The win by the charges of Miya Okamoto slammed the door on Australia, which whipped Malaysia 6-0 at the Imus Stadium in Cavite. The Aussies had hoped for a Thai loss to steal the second semis seat in the group.
The early pre-tournament favorites, the Matildas wound up in third place with 10 points with three wins, one loss and one draw to exit the 11-nation competition organized by the Philippine Football Federation
In a no-bearing match, Singapore shut out Indonesia 2-0 to salvage fourth place with four points.
“We played very well for nearly throughout the game but were punished by that one error. But that’s football, especially when you play against top quality opposition like Thailand,” noted Australian coach Alen Stajcic. “We also had four or five good chances but failed to complete them.”
The best one occurred in the 30th minute off a corner kick, but Jessika Stewart’s left-footer from point blank range went straight into the hands of Thai goalie Chotmanee Thongmongkol, who also had other several spectacular saves in foiling the Filipinas’ spirited attack.
As a last-ditch measure, Stacjic sent striker Sarina Bolden, who scored a hat trick in the Philippines’ 4-1 win over Indonesia last Sunday, to spark the offense but she too was stymied by the disciplined Thai defense.
