Philippine lady booters bow to Australians

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines suffered a 4-0 defeat at the hands of heavy favorite Australia last Monday in Mumbai, India but stayed on track for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup knockout stages.

Up against a rival 53 places higher in the world rankings, the gritty Filipinas held their ground for 50 solid minutes before Sam Kerr led a four-goal spree that secured the Matildas’ second straight win in Group B and an automatic quarterfinal entry.

Despite the loss, the Pinay booters are still in a position to advance, thanks to their 1-0 shocker over Thailand in last Friday’s opener. Thailand matched the Philippines’ three-point card with a 4-0 shutout of Indonesia Monday night but the latter enjoyed the edge in the head-to-head tiebreaker.

“We proved that we’re resilient and that we can be a hard team to beat,” said coach Alen Stajcic of the Philippine squad.