The Philippine Women’s National Football Team kicked off their campaign in the Pink Ladies Week in style, winning 3-0 over Jordan. A brace from Sarina Bolden and a goal from Katrina Guillou did the damage for the Filipinas, who returned to action after six months without a competitive game.
Janae DeFazio enjoyed a fantastic start to her international career, assisting the opening goal just two minutes into the contest. Her cross to the back post found Bolden all alone for an open header to set the tone for the Philippines.
“It’s just a really motivated group, and we’ve been working hard leading into this game. Right from the first whistle we implemented what we’ve been working on, and in the first five minutes it worked, so that was just a really rewarding feeling. And especially representing the Philippines, it feels great,” said DeFazio after the match.
Intent on implementing a more attack-oriented approach, Mark Torcaso’s side kept the pressure on Jordan, starving the opposition of the ball, and forcing them into rushing long passes forward. Although in control of the game, and regularly threatening the Jordanian back line, a second goal remained elusive until the second half. Before the Philippines could pad their lead, it was Jordan that had the first opportunity to strike.
After a shot struck Sara Eggesvik’s arm, Ayah Al-Majali had the chance to draw level from the penalty spot. Olivia McDaniel denied the equalizer with a fine stop, however, adding to her list of iconic penalty saves. Driven by the threat of Jordanian comeback, the Filipinas kicked into another gear.
In the 69th minute, Sarina Bolden converted a spot kick after she was fouled inside the box, smashing in her penalty to provide a much needed cushion. Less than ten minutes later, it was Katrina Guillou’s turn to convert a penalty, after Quinley Quezada was undercut in an aerial challenge inside the box.
The Philippines came close on several occasions to adding to their tally, but would ultimately settle for three goals, a clean sheet, and a strong display against a side that had historically gotten the better of the Filipinas.
“It’s going to take a bit of time to build what we want in terms of our playing style, but the most important thing is we got a win. We haven’t played together for a good six months, and now to get a good win against a good opponent that pressured us in situations, it was just a really pleasing thing,” said head coach Mark Torcaso. “I’m glad for Sarina, I’m glad for Katrina, but also all the girls for getting a really good result.”
The Philippines next play Kenya on October 30, 4:00PM local time (9:00PM PST).
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