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| Sara Eggesvik and her offensive drives. PFF |
By Gil Moriones
MANILA -- A lone goal by Saki Matsunaga was a big help for the visiting Chinese Taipei to cut off a string of five straight losses as they snatched a 1-0 victory against the Philippine women's national football team in an international Friendly, Tuesday night at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium.
This occurred after Sara Eggesvik committed a fatal error, failing to defensively clear the ball, which allowed Matsunaga to take advantage and clinically convert for Chinese Taipei's lead at the 27th minute.
The Taiwanese team knocked on the doors of the Filipinas' defense several times, including an attempt in the 61st minute where the ball hit the crossbar directly. This was followed by a solid attempt by the foe attacker in the blue kit after being found in a solo run, eyeing Chinese Taipei's second goal.
However, it was well-defended by Jessica Cowart after she slightly touched the ball and was cleared by Eggesvik, which all happened between the 60th and 61st minutes.
Unfortunately, the Filipinas' offensive attempts were not converted.
The acid test attempt of senior debut Chayse Ying was able to find Chandler McDaniel, but the Taiwanese keeper was too fast to respond in the 66th minute.
Angela Beard's attempt in the little scramble in the box was blocked by a Taiwanese defender and rebounded by Janae Defazio, who delivered an attempt after her fancy drive, but blocked again by the Taiwanese defender in the 80th minute.
In the first half, a wide open opportunity was foreseen by Angie Beard as she tried to locate a Filipinas attacker, but Chinese Taipei's goalie responded early in the 39th minute.
After this friendly game, the Filipinas will fly to Phnom Penh to clinch a lone spot for the 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup Qualifiers starting June 29.
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