Phl girls enter AFC U-14 SF

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines blanked Cambodia, 5-0, to sweep Group A action and clinch the top spot going to the semifinals of the AFC Under-14 Girls Regional Championship for the Asean region Thursday in Ho Chi Minh City.

The Phl girls, who started the tourney with a 6-0 rout of Singapore and a huge 1-0 upset over Vietnam, completed their dominance of the group with another shut-out win for nine points, drawing goals from skipper Joyce Omboy Semaco (26’), Itsuko Maree Bacatan (44’), Lindsay Whaley (56’) and substitute Chloe Hails (67’) and an own goal by Cambodia’s Meth Mariyan (55’). 

Fourth placers last year, the Pinay booters will shoot for a finals berth today against Myanmar, the No. 2 team in Group B (three points). Thailand, the top team in Group B with four points, will tangle with Group A runner-up and host Vietnam (six points) in the other semis.

“The challenge and motivation of being the only team to beat Vietnam in the history of Philippine women’s football helped push the girls to not to stop, until they reach the finals. Although our girls are not tactically experienced, they perform very well when given their tasks,” said Phl coach Let Dimzon.

The Phl girls made history with their reversal of defending champion Vietnam, courtesy of a 28th minute goal by Olongapo’s Whaley.

Buoyed by this feat, which was reminiscent of the Azkals’ 2010 upset over the host Vietnamese in the Suzuki Cup, the girls came out charging against the Cambodians. They led 2-0 at the half and added three more at the restart to underscore their dominance.

“Cambodia gave us a hard time in the attack during the first half. They were suppressing Trebol and Semaco to stop the distribution in front. At first our girls were pressured, rushing to score even if the space was too tight but they were able to adjust before the end of the first half. This was a good result for the elimination round. Our girls wanted to secure our spot at the top of the group,” Dimzon said.

Phl will go into the Last-4 with an undefeated streak spiked by clean sheets in goals against and yellow and red cards. It also has the most goals scored at 12.

Dimzon expects a good match against the Burmese.

“Myanmar is not that far in terms of the level of technical and tactical understanding compared to our team. Their strength is stamina and physical contact. We will strengthen our defense and work out a more collective attack to be able to get the best results for this match. We will definitely do our best to get this game,” she said.