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    Stajcic not dwelling on contentious Filipinas foul vs Switzerland

    Filipinas coach feels it was unclear if Cowart hit Sow. Nevertheless, he was quick to move on from tough break
    Jul 21, 2023
    alen stajcic hali long filipinas philippines vs switzerland 2023 fifa women's world cup dunedin
    PHOTO: ap

    PHILIPPINES head coach Alen Stajcic is not dwelling on the contentious foul called against the Filipinas that ultimately led to the defeat in their first Fifa Women’s World Cup match.

    Stajcic on contentious Filipinas foul vs Switzerland

    Stajcic said Switzerland began to turn things around late in the first half, and in doing so, creating their own breaks in the match.

    “There is no doubt they are the better team and they should be. I was really proud of the spirit of the team showed,” said Stajcic during the postmatch press conference.

    Switzerland scored the first goal in the 45th minute when Coumba Sow went down at the same time that Filipinas defender Jessika Cowart was attempting to challenge the ball. The referee ruled the incident as a foul inside the box, enabling Ramona Bachmann to slot home the penalty kick.

    switzerland vs philippines 2023 fifa women's world cup, new zealand

    Switzerland later won, 2-0.

    On the contentious play, Stajcic said: “It’s just an incident that happens in the box. They both went in. From what I saw, the ball was just there. The Swiss girl slid in… Jess (Cowart) swung her leg. I don’t know if Jess got her or not…”

    “It’s just a moment in the game. There’s hundreds of moments like that that happen in every game. That one happened in the penalty box and it just happens to be a critical moment in the game. It went Switzerland’s way. That’s what happens.”

    “I saw that they were the dominant team in that 10-minute period. When you dominate, you make your own luck. They had their luck in that moment to get the decision. But they made their own luck with good play. They started to dominate out wide and getting good crosses in the box. If you just look at one moment, there’s a million moments you can dissect.”

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      Stajcic said he was pleased with the general performance of the Filipinas, but the Nati also proved that they were a superior team.

      “I was proud of how we played but certainly, that 10-minute period, I think Switzerland was starting to get on top regardless of the incident in the game,” said Stajcic.

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      PHOTO: ap
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