Phl blasts Hong Kong in AFC elims opener

Matches today (Rizal Memorial Football Stadium)

3 p.m. – Hong Kong vs Chinese Taipei

6 p.m. – Myanmar vs Philippines

MANILA, Philippines - Jean Brigette Kadil and Christina Marie De los Reyes struck as the Philippines trounced Hong Kong, 2-0, for a hot start in the AFC U-19 Women’s Championships Qualifiers Wednesday night at the Rizal Memorial Football Field.

Kadil opened up scoring for the hosts in the 71st minute while De los Reyes followed it up with a strike seven minutes later as the Pinay teeners chalked up three points for the victory, staying close behind Myanmar in Group C of the first round of the qualifiers for the 2013 Asian U-19 bootfest. Myanmar took the lead on goals scored with its 3-1 triumph over Chinese Taipei in the other game.

Phl XI and Myanmar face off tonight at 6 p.m. gunning for a win to move closer to a spot in the Qualification Round 2.

“After this win, we’re really optimistic about our chances,” said De los Reyes, also a mainstay of the Phl women’s national team Malditas. “We’ve watched the game between Myanmar and Chinese Taipei; they’re pretty intense and run a lot of combination, so we need to prepare for them. But overall, we’re optimistic.”

The Filipinas peppered the Hong Kong bets with shot after shot but could only find the mark in the second half.

Kadil, seeing that HK defenders were concentrating on the left flank, dribbled her way to the other side and knocked the ball in as the home crowd celebrated the maiden goal. De los Reyes, who came in as sub for Alessandra Camcam, pounced on a 1v1 situation against keeper Chan Tsz Ching to slam it home and double Phl’s lead.
“We were somehow rushing our shots in the first half, just trying to bombard Hong Kong. So in the second half, we made some adjustments and went for more composure in our buildups and this resulted in two goals coming from central midfielder Kadil and one breakthrough for Christina De los Reyes. Hopefully, this win will give us momentum against Myanmar (tonight) and also against Chinese Taipei (on Sunday),” said assistant coach Franklin Cacacho.

philstar