The Filipinas made themselves known and had it one for the history books after clinching the first-ever AFF Women’s Championship crown on a rainy Sunday night, July 17.
The Philippines used a strong first half to exact revenge against Thailand and pull away with a 3-0 victory in their finals showdown in front of 8,257-strong crowd at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.
Fueled by their 1-0 loss against the Thais last July 12 in the group stage, the Filipinas settled the unfinished business behind the three goals scored by Jessika Cowart, Katrina Guillou, and Sarina Bolden.
Finding fewer touches and holding ground on the defensive end for most parts of the second half, Bolden’s late goal put the nail in the coffin as the Philippines finally bagged its first AFF Women’s Championship title since the tournament began in 2004.
The victory also marked the Philippines’ first international title in the football scene and also saw a huge improvement from its fourth-place finish in the 2019 edition held in Chonburi, Thailand.
As early as the seventh minute, Cowart converted a header off a Tahnai Annis corner pass to set the pace for the World Cup-bound Filipinas. Jaclyn Sawicki displayed superb ball control after two resets and paved the way for Guillou’s goal at the 20th mark to double the lead for the Philippines
Just before half time, Quinley Quezada almost delivered another header but the ball went over the crossbar as the Thais trailed.
The Filipinas clamped down on their defense even as goalkeeper Olivia McDaniel secured a couple of crucial saves in the second half.
Just moments away from celebration, Bolden, the tournament’s top scorer, delivered her eighth overall goal and found the back of the net at the 89th mark off a swift corner kick from Sara Eggesvik.
