The Philippine women’s national football team wrapped up their October camp with a draw.
The Philippine women’s national football team capped off their preparations for the Southeast Asian Games in their Manila camp with a draw with Uzbekistan, 2-2, in front of home fans at the Rizal Memorial Stadium on Wednesday.
After going up 2-nil before the hour mark of the match, the Filipinas were caught on the back foot late in the second half in a match that sparked testy moments in crunch time.
Multiple yellow cards were handed out.
The Filipinas scored early when they hit the ground running, with Meryll Serrano finding Chandler McDaniel with a touch pass deep in the box.
Before the two-minute mark, the home team was already ahead, 1-nil.
Rattled awake by the Filipinas’ early goal, the Uzbeks amped up their offense and controlled the possession for most of the first 45 minutes.
But even as their foes had many opportunities, the Filipinas’ defense was anchored heavily by skipper Hali Long and Olivia McDaniel to keep the Uzbeks searching for the back of the net.
Then in the second half, the Filipinas were finally able to get some insurance near the hour mark.
Sofia Wunsch capitalized on a mis-kick from an Uzbek defender near the box before passing it on to Serrano.
The Fil-Norwegian then netted a strong but low shot that doubled the Filipinas’ lead, two-nil, at the 56th minute.
Still, the Uzbeks continued to push against a Filipinas side that was riding a sizeable home crowd’s support at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.
Persistence finally paid off for the visitors at the 67th minute with Diyorakhon Khabibullaeva converting from a set piece.
She then followed it up with another goal at the 81st minute to salvage a draw with the home team.
The Filipinas has thus tallied a draw and a loss in their last two home games.
Luisa Morales is a sports writer with a special interest in promoting women’s sports.
Her coverage highlights include the UAAP, PVL, Southeast Asian Games, and the FIBA World Cup. She also follows Alex Eala, the Philippine women’s national football team, and mixed martial arts.