Thais deal Filipinas bitter loss on late goal

MANILA, Philippines — Thailand dealt host Philippines its first loss in the AFF Women’s Championship, 1-0, to wrest the top spot in Group A last night before a stunned home crowd at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.

Kenyamat Chettthabutr took advantage of the defense’s failure to clear a high ball in the box to nod in the game-winner at the 74th minute. It propelled the Thais to No. 1 seeding in the semifinals while relegating the Filipinas to No. 2.

At the end of group play, 2019 runner-up Thailand carded 13 points on four wins and a draw while the Philippines settled for a second-best 12 on four wins and a setback.

The result placed the home team into a more challenging semis assignment on Friday, having to face the topnotcher of Group B, which could either be defending champion Vietnam or 2019 bronze medalist Myanmar.

The Vietnamese and the Burmese, both with nine points on three victories, face off tonight in the final game of pool play to determine their group winner.

The Thais finally broke through 15 minutes from time when a miscue by defenders Dom Randle and Sofia Harrison allowed Chetthabutr to deliver the winning header.

Cheered on by a 2,923-strong crowd, the Filipinas launched an all-out effort to get the equalizer, even sending in gunner Sarina Bolden to lead the way. But in the end, they just couldn’t break through against the resolute Thais, who have won their last two head-to-head matchups counting their 3-0 win in the semifinals of the Southeast Asian Games.

“We had a couple of semifinals already this year (AFC Women’s Asian Cup and SEA Games) so we’ve had good experience. Now it’s time to win one,” said Philippine coach Alen Stajcic.