The Philippine Women’s National Football Team gave New Zealand fits before yielding a 2-1 loss in their friendly last Wednesday at the Cal State Fullerton’s Titan Stadium in California.
The Filipinas took an early 1-0 lead courtesy of Sarina Bolden off an assist by Sara Eggesvik before the halftime whistle. The Football Ferns, however, came back in the final half and had to endure an all-out effort from the Filipinas for the equalizer to escape with the win.
A penalty kick by skipper Meikayla Moore in the 66th minute and the go-ahead strike by Ali Riley in the 82nd minute sealed the win for the 22nd-ranked New Zealand side.
Filipinas’ head coach Alen Stajcic gave a straight forward assessment of the performance of his team.
“Certainly, there’s a lot of areas for us to improve on the ball and with our movement and execution of passes. But overall, I thought it was a good performance against a strong team—an experienced team—and you know, in some respect, maybe I’m lucky enough to get a point out of it and could have even got a win,” Stajcic said after the game.
New Zealand Coach Jitka Klimkova, on the other hand, was relieved her side won the tough game against the Filipinas. She said it was very important for the Ferns to show their grit and toughness to come back from one goal down after the first half.
“Congrats to Philippines for the performance. I think they were very strong opposition. It was not easy to find a way to win this game. I’m very happy that our second half had the great that we were talking in our locker room with the players, with the team to find a way to win this game. It’s been a while since we had two wins in our pocket,” she said.
The international friendly was the culmination of a 13-day training camp for the Filipinas as the team continues to prepare for its biggest tournament next year. Moreover, the game against the FIFA Word Cup co-host was a gauge to know where the team is right now. Despite the disappointment of losing and what could have been, Stajcic was on point when he said it achieved one of the goals of the friendly.
“New Zealand is a team that has been to every World Cup in recent times and Olympic Games. This is a good marker for us and I thought we matched them. You know, I don’t think there’s too much in the game in terms of chances. Either way or, or shots on goal or possession or anything so I think there’s a fairly equally and hotly contested game,” Stajcic said.
Just like in the past, Stajcic and the rest of the team will bounce back from the loss with lessons learned. Not known for making excuses, Stajcic will move on from the New Zealand loss in making the team better and more prepared.
“We’re always progressing. We’re always reaching high and that’s why we picked an opponent that’s over 30 spots in front of us in the rankings to test this and see where we are and I think we can compete at that level if we do everything right and there’s certainly a lot of improvement left in us as well. So the best part is we’re working hard and trying to improve every day and trying to get better,” he said.
“It’s good that a lot of players could complete the game and unfortunately, one or two players had to miss out. That that’s just the way a camp goes and football goes but I’m pretty happy with the camp overall. But as I’ve said all the time, we’ve got a lot of hard work ahead of us as well,” Stajcic added.
While winning friendlies is a good morale booster, these don’t mean much when the actual competitions begin. Just like in the past, I would rather see the Filipinas lose a tuneup game or two or even three as long as these games help them get better, stronger, more confident and physically and mentally ready when the World Cup starts less than a year from now.
It’s better for them to lose now if it means getting a chance to rack up wins in Australia or New Zealand in August next year. The Designated Hit Man wouldn’t mind if that happens.
I also don’t mind the mindset of Stajcic when he was asked if the Filipinas can compete against stronger, bigger, and higher-ranked teams on their way to the World Cup. I also liked his answer on the loss against the Football Ferns.
‘We can compete, but we have to win and we didn’t win, so you know, I’m happy that we competed. And I’m happy that we showed we’re at this level, but ultimately you have to find a way to win and you know, I’m never going to be happy with losing. That’s for sure,” Stajcic said.
Speaking of losing, I can’t blame the fans for their comments regarding the “silence” of the Philippine Azkals’ FB page. They have the right to rant, of course. Not knowing the latest updates or movements of the team, overshadowed by the success of the women’s team, is simply nuts. And as rabid as they are, these Azkals’ fans are entitled to know. I can’t blame the football gods also if their attention is fixated on the Filipinas right now.
Just hoping, too, that somehow, some attention will also be given to the men’s squad—after all, they are still our Azkals.
Heard, however, that there are efforts to make the Azkals’ social media accounts more active and to have more content in the coming days. The people behind the team are asking for a little bit more of patience and understanding. As to how and when, we will get updates soon and will share them right away here once available. Kapit lang po!
Before I forget, a new Pinoy wrestling champion will be crowned in the annual live extravaganza of the Manila Wrestling Federation (MWF). Dubbed “Road to Fate,” the Grand Championship of the MWF is set to unfold this coming Sunday, September 11, 2022, 5 p.m. at PETA Theatre Center. The venue is located at #5 Eymard Drive, E. Rodrguez Avenue, New Manila, in Quezon City (near corner of QC Sport Club after Christ the King Church).
Local wrestling icons such as Crystal, Nigel “Suplex” San Jose, Jake De Leon, and Fabio Makisig are expected to compete and vie to become the country’s representative to the Southeast Asian professional wrestling scene. If you are an avid fan of Pinoy Wrestling, then this event is for you.
And speaking of updates, we would be happy, too, if we can hear what will the government do in the face of the peso falling to its weakest against the dollar in recent decades, high inflation rates, and high cost of basic commodities and other issues currently being faced by the country.
Straight forward answers, just like what Stajcic gave, will be much appreciated.
Stay safe. Stay happy peeps!
For comments or questions, you can reach The Designated Kit Man at [email protected] or follow his account at Twitter: @erelcabatbat
