Malditas dominate Singapore in AFF tilt

THE Philippine women’s national football team pulled off a resounding comeback at the expense of Singapore, 3-0, for its first win in the 2018 Asean Football Federation (AFF) Women’s Championship on Tuesday night at the Gelora Swirijaya Stadium in Palembang, Indonesia.

Joyce Semacio and Quinley Quezada scored in opposite halves, as the Malditas rebounded from a humiliating 0-4 opening loss to Myanmar.

The Filipina booters jumped to No. 3 in the five-team Group B with three points while the Singaporeans stayed at No. 4 with a lone marker.

Semacio executed an early counterattack as she outran Singapore’s backline before beating the opposing goalkeeper for the opener in the eighth minute.

The Malditas, however, were not able to find the back of the net for the rest of the first half, leaving coach Buda Bautista dissatisfied.

“We were not playing well in the first half. We were rushing things,” said Bautista, whose call did not go unnoticed in the second half.

The PH lady booters came out aggressive at the restart and it paid off when Kyla Inquig sent a cross that was converted by Singaporean defender Nur Umairah Hamdan into their own net in the 61st.

Quezada concluded the romp with a swift strike from the right seven minutes later.

The women’s national team will look to sustain the momentum when it takes on Vietnam on Saturday night.

Earlier, the Philippine Under-19 men’s national team suffered a 0-5 loss to Vietnam in the 2018 AFF U-19 Youth Championship at the Gelora Delta Stadium in Sidoarjo.

The Teen Azkals fell to No. 4 in Group A with three points off their 2-1 stunner over Singapore.

Reiji Hirata and his wards seek to rebound as they tackle host Indonesia at 7 p.m. tonight at the same venue.