Justine Juyad

The Philippine women's national football team made its first goal in Pinatar Cup 2023 but still fell short against Scotland, 1-2, at the Pinatar Arena, Saturday (PH time).

Photo Courtesy of Tiebreaker Times

Following their goalless outing against Wales on Thursday, the 53rd ranked team converted their first goal in the tournament only to bow down to 25th-ranked Scots, who just got their first win after losing their opener.

The goal came too late for a comeback as Meryll Serrano successfully converted a free kick in the 90th minute mark of the game, giving the Philippines a consolation goal despite a 0-2 win-loss record.

The Pinay booters really had a hard time looking for a goal during the match as they only had possession 21% of the game.

Despite limited touches, they were still able to create three shots on target only behind one compared to Scotland's four. However, the Scottish goalkeeper was able to deny two of them while her allies managed to pass through Olivia McDaniel's defense twice.

McDaniel's defense was first stunned in the 39th minute as Lauren Davidson struck for a lefty low ball shot drawing the first blood for Scotland before entering the second half.

The Scottish booters then stretched their lead in the 57th minute, from Rachel Corsie's soft touch off of a right corner kick delivered by Caroline Weir.

Filipinas' main goalie complained about their opponent's second goal, insisting that there was a handball but the referee saw nothing wrong.

In the next minutes, both teams struggled to make a clear shot until the Philippines' consolation goal courtesy of Serrano. 

Filipinas will look for a silver-lining win on Wednesday (PH time) to wrap up their campaign against World's No.16 and top seeded Iceland.


Diana Mae Salonoy