Controversial equalizer cancels out Markey’s golazo as valiant Filipinas end debut AFC U17 Women’s Asian Cup campaign in stalemate with South Korea, 1-1
Let’s call it the Heartbreak in Bali.
The U-17 Filipinas are just 16 minutes away from one of their most important wins in the history of their youth national teams. Just.
The young Filipinas needed a win against traditional powerhouses Korea Republic. Maintaining a 1-0 lead at 74 minutes of action, a momentary lapse of concentration after a controversial non-call on a foul near the box against Korea’s Casey Phair cost an AFC U17 Women’s Asian Cup semi-final slot for the Filipinas as Ye-Joo Beom slammed the ball into the net past the distracted Filipinas, making it 1-1.
Since the stunning albeit disputed equalizer, the Philippines have not recovered until the final whistle as the Filipinas and Koreans shared the points in the deciding group fixture at the Bali United Training Center in Gianyar last Sunday, May 12. With both teams having 4 points in Group A, Korea Republic qualified for the final four through goal difference, largely due to their dismantling of Indonesia, 12-0, three days ago.
“We were very organized in many moments of the game. We wanted to press them. We want to play zonally. We knew at any moment of the game we could have won it. It’s nearly paid off. Unfortunately, that unlucky goal, probably questionable, but again it is what it is and we just have to move on,” said U17 Filipinas head coach Sinisha Cohadzic post match.
Despite this heartbreaker of a result, there are still positives for the fans to be excited about as the bright future of the Filipinas project is on full display in Bali.
The young Filipinas started aggressively right from the opening whistle, as head coach Sinisha Cohadzic employed a compact 4-4-2 formation with captain Alexa Pino and Natalie Collins leading the counterpressing front, which really startled the Korean build-up in the first few minutes of action, as they forced Koreans to give away five corners in the first 16 minutes of game time due to the intensity of the young Filipinas’ press.
The high pressure employed by the Filipinas was complemented by the flair of these young guns as Jael-Marie Guy was effective on the wings taking on her defenders with ease while Pino, as always, with her trickery dazzling markers, while the back four maintained composure on the Korean counterattack and central midfielder Ava Villapando unfazed with the, but still they cannot find the finishing in the final third to get the lead.
But magic happened in the 38th minute. Ariana Markey took a left-footed inswing corner and casually whipped out an Olimpico straight to the goalkeeper’s left-hand corner as the fullback’s worldie gave the shock lead to the underdog Filipinas in classy fashion, 1-0, with the rest of the team holding on the lead until halftime.
The second half was quite different as the Filipinas focused much more on their defensive end, with heroics coming from the brick wall of defense Briana Baker in goal as the Koreans hunted for the equalizer.
And then, everything changed when head coach Kim Eun-Jung subbed in perhaps their best player in their roster, Casey Phair, who had also played for South Korea’s senior national team. The Angel City FC striker is crucial to the change in defensive shape of the Filipinas as she provided the needed attacking threat for the Taegeuk Girls.
Despite the entry of Phair, the young Filipinas still provided the attacking threat as substitute Fran Alberto provided the fresh speed needed in the flanks, while the backline provided the needed defensive action with yet another save from Baker in a one-on-one with Phair and cleared by Markey. But then horror happened in the 74th. Phair had a duel with defender Lauren Villasin, which resulted in a messy scuffle between the two just on the edge of the box, with both knocking themselves down. The rest of the backline called for a foul but the referee refused to whistle before a quick-thinking Beom slammed the ball for a horrific equalizer for the Koreans. They held on until the final whistle.
The South Koreans join their Northern counterparts as the semifinalists in Group A while the Philippines end their first-ever appearance in the AFC U17 Women’s Asian Cup with heads held high in their stellar three-match performance in a glimpse of the possible bright future of the Filipinas senior team.
“At the end of the day, it all comes down to us developing these players to play in the senior national team in the future, and what we’ve seen here in this tournament is that these girls can compete on this level,” said head coach Cohadzic in a post-match interview.
