THE Philippines lost to Japan, 8-1, and bowed out at the quarterfinal stage of the 19th Asian Games women’s football tournament at the Wenzhou Sports Centre.
The one-sided loss to a Japan squad that reached the quarterfinals at the recent Fifa Women’s World Cup put an end to the Philippines’ debut campaign in the Asiad where they reached the knockout stage after finishing second in Group E.
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Japan’s win was highlighted by Mami Ueno's four goals in the second half, giving the team enough confidence heading to the semifinals where they will play host China
The Filipinas were down to 10 players after Hali Long was hit with a red card in the 27th minute for pushing Remina Chiba. Everything went downhill from there.
The Philippines also got an unlucky break when Bella Pasion was called for a handball inside the box, and Momoko Tanikawa scored the first goal of the match in the 40th amidst the heavy rains in Wenzhou.
Play was suspended for a few minutes at the tailend of the first half due to the weather conditions, but that didn’t cool down Japan which went on a barrage as soon as it came back on the pitch.
Bolden breaks Filipinas duck
Haruka Osawa and Chiba made it 3-0 with goals in the 58th and 65th. And although Sarina Bolden headed home a corner from Sara Eggesvik in the 68th for the first goal conceded by Japan in the tournament, Japan continued to attack.
Ueno scored the four goals consecutively in the 76th, 78th, 81st, and 91st to turn up the cricket score before Osawa closed the match with her second goal in the 94th.
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