Philippines earns Women's Asian Cup quarterfinal spot

c/o Asian Football Confederation

Thursday night was another memorable part of Philippine Football, as the Philippines booked their spot in the quarterfinals of the Women's Asian Cup with a 6-0 victory over Indonesia at Pune.

Five Pinays got into the scoresheet, led by Tahnai Annis and her brace.

Motivated by the desire to book their spot in the FIFA Women's World Cup, they applied pressure on their fellow ASEAN opposition, hoping to capitalize on mistakes.

It took them four minutes to coax that out, as Vivi Oktavia Riski was called for handball inside the area, awarding a penalty for the Philippines.

Sarina Bolden sent the spot kick towards the left upright, but Katrina Guillou redeemed her teammate shortly. After receiving Carleigh Frilles' cross, she then slotted it past Riska Aprilia to open the scoring for the evening.

Bolden would eventually secure her goal in the 27th minute, heading home a Jessica Miclat free kick to double the lead.

Indonesia managed to keep it to that scoreline until the halftime break, many thanks to Aprilia's efforts.

The second half saw continued pressure from the Filipinas, and they got their third goal after a poor clearance found its way to Tahnai Annis, who struck the ball towards the bottom right corner in the 56th minute.

A second penalty was awarded in the 73rd minute with Dominique Randle was fouled inside the area. Miclat converted it this time for the Philippines to make it 4-0.

Annis netted a brace with a sensational strike from distance in the 83rd minute, before Malea Cesar completed the scoring in injury time, as the substitute took advantage of an empty net situation thanks to the heroics of Sara Castaneda.

The win ensures the Philippines finishes in second place, setting up a quarterfinal matchup against Chinese-Taipei.