Malditas hope to exit with pride in Asean

MANILA, Philippines -  The Philippine Malditas seek to get some consolation as they close out their campaign in the 2012 Asean Football Federation Women’s Championship against fellow winless Singapore tonight at Thong Nhat Stadium in Ho Chi Minh City.

The Malditas, already out of contention for the semifinals after losing their first two games in Group A, gun for a victory against the Singaporeans at 6:30 p.m. (7:30 p.m. in Manila) hoping to gain some positives they can build on.

Parading its most talent-laden lineup to date, the Pinay booters realized it’s still a long way to go before they can contend with the big guns of Southeast Asia.

The Malditas suffered a 0-3 setback to Myanmar last Thursday then showed guts in yielding a 2-4 loss to Vietnam Saturday night.

“So proud to be a part of the team. I couldn’t ask for a better bunch of girls. We put our heart out there and unfortunately Vietnam capitalized on our lapses. We know what to work on now and things can only get better for women’s football,” said Sam Nierras after the match.

Singapore lost badly in their two earlier assignments, 0-10 to Vietnam and 0-11 to Myanmar.

Semis-bound Myanmar and Vietnam face off at 4 p.m. (5 p.m. in Manila) to dispute the No. 1 spot for Group A going to the next round.