The Philippines made a mockery of their ranking to thrash Iran 6-0, thanks to a brace from Jesse Anne Shugg in the opening match at the AFC Women’s
Asian Cup on Tuesday at the Bangabandhu National Stadium.
The Philippines, ranked 83-rd in the world, 25 places behind their rivals Iran, underlined their credentials as one of the top contenders for a berth in the final round when they scored three goals inside the first four minutes.
There was to be no comeback from the Iranians as the Philippines added two more goals late in the first half to go to the interval on the back of a 5-0 lead, providing the tournament its perfect kick-start.
The Filipinos appeared relaxed in the second half as their focus shifted on avoiding unceremonious injury worries before Thursday’s key clash against Thailand, which will possibly decide the qualifier from this group.
However, they added one more goal in the second half injury time and left the field proving the gulf in difference in the FIFA rankings is not a mitigating factor in women’s football.
The Philippines opened the floodgates in the very first minute when midfielder Heather Cook headed a Natasha Olaudine Garcia corner into the far post.
In the 3rd minute, Megan Marie Jurado doubled their lead with an angular shot from the top of the box.
Jesse scored the team’s third and her first goal in the fourth minute with a curving shot from the middle of the box after Joana Houplin set her free with a back-heel effort.
In the 34th minute, Iran defender Sarshin Kamangar saw her sliding effort to clear a Jesse cross land in her own net to make it 4-0.
Joana turned from provider to goal-scorer when she registered her side’s fifth goal in the 41st minute as she sped past the Iranian defence and placed the ball over the advancing Iran goal-keeper Maryam Yektaei.
After the break, Iran listed their first goal-scoring opportunity in the 67th minute but Sarah Ghomi Marzdashti’s shot from a low Zahra Ghanbari cross deflected off a defender’s feet.
Jesse grabbed her second and her team’s sixth goal in the stoppage time with a placing shot into the far post from the left edge of the box.
‘We have a system that earned us more goals. We have confidence in what we are doing and we know we can win games. Today we proved that our system works,’ said Ernie Nierras, head coach of the Philippines, who boast seven US-based players in their starting line-up.
Helena Costa, the Portuguese coach of Iran, insisted her side lost the match only due to a lack of concentration.
‘We were all but out of the match after conceding three goals in the first four minutes due to a lack of attention of our players,’ she said.
-With New Age input
