Filipinas clinch spot in AFF Women's Championship final after dethroning Vietnam

Hali Long heads the opening goal for the Filipinas. PFF

By Ivan Saldajeno

MANILA--"Her-story" has just been made on Friday night.

The Philippine women's football team clinched a historic spot in the AFF Women's Championship final after blasting past champion Vietnam, 4-0, in their semifinal showdown at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.

In front of 3,233 fans with even a section reserved for the Vietnamese fans, the Filipinas struck first in the 32nd minute when Hali Long headed in a Tahnai Annis corner kick.

Annis was rewarded with a 51st-minute penalty that further rocked the Filipina fans in attendance.

Sarina Bolden then delivered the exclamation points, scoring headers in the 62nd and the 71st minutes to ice the match and dethrone the Vietnamese side.

This is the first time the Philippines beat Vietnam in women's football play after 10 meetings.

The Filipinas can set another "her-story" on Sunday night as they have a chance to exact revenge on Thailand in the grandest stage of the tournament, the championship match itself.

The Thais clinched the first seat in the final with a 2-0 win against Myanmar earlier in the night.

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