PWNT bows out of Olympic Qualifiers on good note, waylays Palestine

By Kevin Sox

The Philippine Women’s Football National Team closed the second round of the AFC Olympic Qualifiers with a scintillating 7-nil win over Palestine on Wednesday (Manila time) at the Saoud Bin Abdulrahman Stadium in Qatar, a good consolation as the Filipinas have bowed out of the qualification process.

Sara Castaneda and Eva Madarang each finished with a brace while Joyce Semacio, Alisha del Campo, and Patrice Impelido all added one goal apiece to the final tally.

It was Semacio who opened the scoring in the 17th minute, converting on a penalty kick awarded.

Del Campo doubled the Philippines’ lead in the 29th minute, beating the keeper to slot in another goal.

With momentum on their side, Madarang capitalized just two minutes after, pushing the Philippines ahead after scoring the firrst of her two goal-output.

Madarang picked up from where she left off, opening the second half with the nationals’ fourth goal of the match in the 60th minute.

It jumpstarted a spree of goals in the next 10 minutes as the flood gates opened. Impelido converted on an impressive header in the 62nd; Madarang assisted Castaneda for a volley which went in, before the latter capped the big win with another goal for a brace.

It was a victory the Filipinas will be bringing home as they try to continue elevating their level of play.

The Philippines finished with two wins and a loss in Group C, derailing their Olympic hopes. Chinese Taipei moved on to the third round as they wounded up undefeated with three wins, including a 4-2 victory over the Philippines three days ago.