Three different players scored for the Philippines in their opening game of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup qualifiers in Cambodia.
Meryll Serrano ushered in her return to the national team with a goal to lead the Filipinas to a 3-0 win over Saudi Arabia, opening the hostilities in Group G of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup qualifiers in Cambodia on Sunday.
Serrano, who missed out on the last national team camp due to injury, involved herself in the first two goals of the Philippines — first setting up Jaclyn Sawicki after dispossessing a defender right outside the edge of the box at the 16th minute.
The midfielder’s hustle created a chance for the Filipinas before passing it on to Sawicki, who launched it off of a Saudi Arabia defender to get past Mona Alowais to pull the Filipinas ahead early, 1-nil.
It was Sawicki’s first goal for the Philippines.
Serrano created another chance in added time before the halftime break when she powered a through ball to Alexa Pino, who charged on to the keeper.
Unfortunately, Pino was bothered by another defender and her shot lacked power to be easily caught by Alowais, keeping the score the same at the end of the first 45 minutes.
Despite only leading at the half by a goal, the Filipinas were obviously the busier team as Filipinas keeper Olivia McDaniel was hardly tested throughout the 90 minutes while Alowais was put to work often.
The Filipinas’ tenacity in creating chances paid off anew at the 55th minute, when it was Serrano who converted on her on goal inside the box to push the Filipinas’ lead to two.
Eager to keep going, Pino put on the icing on the cake at the 81st minute after creating a shot all on her own inside the box, making it a trifecta for the Filipinas. The youth standout thus scored her first goal for the Philippines in the senior stage.
The 3-nil win for the Filipinas gave them an emphatic bounce back after losing their last match — a friendly against Chinese Taipei in Manila.
The Filipinas get the full three points and begin their campaign for a spot in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup in Australia next year on a high note.