PH Malditas bow down to tough Thai booters

MANILA, Philippines – It was the goal that never came.

Despite having 10 shots on goal against Thailand’s 3 attempts in the second half of their match in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Qualifiers in Bangladesh on Thursday, May 23, the Philippine Malditas fell short in salvaging a draw to boost their qualifying bid past the group stages.

Minutes after the match, news reports spread about a late-game equalizer from the national booters in the dying minutes of the match that was eventually disallowed.

No news on why the goal was disallowed. Will tweet as soon as we find out.

— Philippine Womens NT (@PHI_Malditas) May 23, 2013

However, hours after the game, the Philippine Malditas’ official Facebook page clarified issue about the “disallowed goal” saying the reported goal in the 87th min was a “clerical error”. Here is the statement:

Clarification on the ‘disallowed goal’: Our ‘sources’ for the game reported a goal by the 87th min but was actually a clerical error. According to some players of the team, it never happened. Monika Lee says, “It never went in. It looked like it, but it didn’t.” One of the parents of the Malditas posted a clip of the supposed equalizer and it really looked like it went it.

Coach Ernie Nierras: “There was no disallowed goal during our match. The shot was not from a free kick. IT came a few min earlier. Anyway Thai goal was offside!”

Toe to toe

The resilient Malditas played toe to toe with the Thai women booters in the first half, with both teams having equal chances while defending superbly.

Thailand broke the deadlock with a 37th minute goal from ace striker Nisa Romyen, who scored 4 goals in their 9-0 annihilation of Bangladesh in their opening match of the tournament.

The Philippine women booters got equal chances on the goal but the Thai defense remained solid throughout the match.

Malditas standout Jesse Shugg, who scored a brace for the national squad in their resounding 6-0 win against Iran, was a marked player throughout the game with 3 Thai defenders on her tails.

The Filipina booters would have remained undefeated and in strong contention for qualification if they were able to score an equalizer and salvage a draw.

Only the top team in each group will qualify in the final tournament. With the current standings, the only way the Philippine Malditas can qualify is beating Bangladesh with a sizeable margin and Iran beating Thailand in their next games.

Thailand is ranked 29th in the FIFA World Rankings and currently the strongest women’s football team in Southeast Asia. The Philippine Malditas, on the other hand, is ranked 83rd.

The Philippine Malditas will play host Bangladesh on Saturday, May 25, for their final game in the group stages. – Rappler.com