Philippines XI blanks India

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines kicked off its bid in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Under-16 Women’s Championship Qualifiers with a bang, beating India, 2-0, yesterday at Luneng Football School in Weifang, China.

The Filipinas took only six minutes to draw first blood in the Group B opener as Tejanee Isulat pounced on a lapse on the Indian defense to send the ball home.

The Indians tried furiously to equalize but their shots went begging and at one point were foiled by the Pinay custodian.

Andie Tiongson scored against the run of play in the 76th minute to double the lead and seal the win for Phl.

The Pinay booters seek to sustain the momentum as they battle the Northern Mariana Islands on Tuesday.

They are set to take on Korea Republic on Sept 3 and Malaysia on Sept. 5 to complete their assignments in the group.

Phl needs to top the group to qualify for next year’s eight-team final round, where titlist North Korea, Japan, China and Thailand have already been seeded.