SEA Games: Malditas drop opening game to host Myanmar

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Women’s National Football Team kicked off their 2013 South East Asian Games campaign on the backfoot as they dropped their opening match against Myanmar, 0-2, Tuesday, December 10 at the Mandalarthiri Stadium in Mandalay, Myanmar.

It was a tough night for coach Ernie Nierras’ side as host Myanmar put the Philippines under pressure from the get-go, raining the Malditas with threatening shots and crosses. But the Filipinos were able to fend off most of the attempts to keep the score closer than it should have been. 

Hailed as the best assembled side for the Philippines for the SEA Games, the Malditas showed promise early on as they looked more comfortable with the ball but the visitors could not translate it to attempts against the visibly fitter Burmese squad.

Fueled by the jam-packed homecrowd at the venue, Myanmar flirted with opening the scoring within the first 10 but Idaho State’s Maria dela Cruz kept the score at nil-nil with timely saves and excellent tending in front of the goal.

The breakthrough for Myanmar did not come until the 29^th minute when the Malditas goalkeeper committed a costly mistake with Khin Malartun scoring the opener into an empty net.

The Filipinos were able to thwart the Burmese side’s attacks for the rest of the half but Myanmar showed better composure, foiling every Malditas attempt to counter.

Playing one of her best games for the Philippines between the sticks, dela Cruz singlehandedly kept her squad in the game as she made herself big in front of the offensive-minded Burmese. But the Malditas finally succumbed to pressure when Than Than Htwe made it 2-nil, finding the net from outside the box in the hour-mark.

With the loss, the Malditas face a must-win situation against Vietnam on Friday, December 13, if they are to move forward to the tournament’s final four. – Rappler.com