Sofia Harrison (16) of Filipinas is seen being defended by South Koreans during their international friendly match. | Photo from the Philippine Women’s National Football Team
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The visiting Philippine women’s national football team bowed down to the Koreans in the first of their back-to-back friendly matches on Friday evening, April 5, at the Icheon Sports Complex in South Korea.
The match’s outcome was reminiscent of the Filipinas previous duel against the Koreans where the latter finished 5-1 during the Hangzhou Asian Games.
This time, the Koreans put on a late scoring surge to capture the win on their turf.
READ: Filipinas face South Korea in friendly match on Friday
Yu-Ri Choe scored a goal in the 73rd minute. Three minutes later, So-yun Ji made it 2-0 for the Koreans after scoring another goal in the 76th minute.
Sel-gi Jang sealed their win with an 88th-minute goal.
The Filipinas held the Koreans scoreless despite the defeat in the first half.
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But, the Koreans were relentless offensively firing 27 shots against the Filipinas four.
Eight shots were on target, while only one was for the Filipinas.
The Koreans also controlled the ball most of the time during the match with 68% ball possession over the Filipinas’ 32%.
READ: Filipinas show ‘heart, courage’ in losing Women’s World Cup debut
Filipinas can still bounce back as they’re scheduled for a rematch against South Korea on April 8, Monday.
International friendly
That was the first time the team fielded a more dynamic line-up of veterans and rookies in this international friendly.
The veterans were comprised of Sarina Bolden, Olivia McDaniels, Chandler McDaniel, Jessika Cowart, Tahnai Annis, Sara Eggesvik, Katrina Guillou, Hali Long, and Quinley Quezada.
Meanwhile, the rookies in action were Angela Beard, Rhea Chan, Nina Mathelus, Alessandrea Carpio, Isabella Bandoja, Cathrine Graversen, and Aiselyn Sia to name a few.
It was also a special night for Bolden who etched a milestone for playing in her 50th international match.
Bolden became popular worldwide when she scored the Filipinas’ lone goal in the FIFA Women’s World Cup last year leading them to beat host country New Zealand.