THE Philippines dropped its first match in the 2022 AFF Women’s Championship, bowing to Thailand, 1-0, on Monday at the Rizal Memorial Stadium to finish in second place in Group A.
Filipinas vs Thailand recap
The Filipinas conceded the lone goal in the 74th on a defensive miscue by Dom Randle, allowing Kanyanat Chetthabutr to execute a header and into the back of the net.
Despite getting a lot of scoring chances in the match, the Filipinas lost the match to drop to second place in Group A with 12 points, with Thailand, the runners-up in the last AFF tournament in 2019, taking the top spot in the bracket.
The Philippines now plays the waiting game as it will face the top seed in Group B which will be either defending champion Vietnam or Myanmar. Their match is set on Wednesday night at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.
Randle miscalculated a high ball at the back that landed into the vicinity of Kanyanat despite being surrounded by two more Pinay defenders. It gave her enough space to head the ball to the disappointment of the 2,923 spectators, the largest crowd thus far to attend the match.
“It was a tough game. Both teams could have won the game. Unfortunately, one error costs us the game tonight,” said Philippines coach Alen Stajcic.
“We had enough chances to win the game. They had two or three chances, we had four or five chances, probably a few more than them, and we couldn’t put them away. We were punished by one error and that’s what happens in international football,” Stajcic said.
One of the best chances by the Philippines came in the first half when Jessika Cowart’s shot inside the box off a corner was saved by goalkeeper Chotmanee Thongmongkol in the 37th.
The Thailand ‘keeper kept the clean sheet, deflecting a shot by Carleigh Frilles two minutes before halftime.
Not even the entry of Sarina Bolden, who scored a hat trick in the previous outing against Indonesia, late in the match couldn't give the Philippines the equalizer.
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