The Filipinas lost their first home game in three years. Here are our post-game thoughts from a night of disappointment.
There was so much hype leading into Tuesday night’s friendly. But when the final whistle sounded, the crowd of about 3,000 was let down as the hosts suffered a 1-0 loss against a lower-ranked opponent.
There is a lot to unpack.
The tactical plan failed to materialize. Head coach Mark Torcaso went with a three-centerback set of Katana Norman, Hali Long, and Jessika Cowart. The defense would revert to five when the opponents attacked, fairly common.
Wingback Angie Beard was stationed up the field in order to create from the left flank. But the Chinese Taipei defense had an answer for her every time.
In front of the back three were Sara Eggesvik and Jaclyn Sawicki. The latter appeared to be almost shut out of the proceedings, hardly getting on the ball and given the chance to conjure up an offensive spark from what I recall. Eggsvik unspooled one very nice pass before her error led to Saki Matsunaga’s goal. Other than that, I cannot remember anything notable from either player. These are excellent players who should have been given the opportunity to impact the game more, I feel. Maybe the CT midfield did a great job of blanketing them.
It looked like Chandler McDaniel was playing the role of lone striker up front, and was also starved of quality supply.
What was infuriating was the constant shuffling of the ball back and forth along the defensive line instead of playing the ball forward. There were also moments of timidity in the middle of the park. I presume the plan was to put some pressure on the back, opening up space in the middle third, but CT seemed to manage the situation well. The risk-averse play continued even into the last 20 minutes of the contest, when we were obviously chasing the game.
Football fans often complain about crude long-ball tactics. But I would have taken that kind of play instead of the overly conservative and patient display last night. Not only was it ineffective, it was also unattractive. Philippine football needs to grow its fan base, and it won’t do it with an excessively cautious philosophy.
I counted three shots on goal in the entire game, two of them blocked. Obviously, this is not good enough, especially at home. The side must step up in time for the AFC Asian Women’s Cup qualification in Cambodia in a few weeks’ time, where we play Saudi Arabia, the host team, and Hong Kong.
Full credit to Chinese Taipei. They were technically adept, at times tricky, very quick, and fit. I loved their keeper Wang Yu-ting. Excellent timing on her Neuer-like forays out of the box, brave in set pieces, and blessed with strong distribution and goal kicking. She even let loose a superb javelin throw from the edge of the penalty area that almost made it to the center circle. This is a program on the rise.
There were bright spots. Wide player Janae DeFazio produced chances from the right side on either side of halftime. Easily, she gets my nod for WOTM. The Makai Football Club player has the pace and quality to make a difference going forward.
The other positive we can take from the game is the solid play of the back three. Long is the steady, calming influence, while Cowart is an oak in the center of the defensive third. Her height is a massive asset in the women’s game and helps neutralize corner kicks. Note the corner kick late from the visitors that they decided to pass out back into the middle of the park instead of playing it into the six-yard box. They knew they weren’t the favorite in the air with our height advantage.
Norman made a sensational tackle late in the match on a Chinese Taipei breakaway that kept us in the game. But she was replaced by Kaya Hawkinson right after.
It is good to know that the team has depth and quality in the center of defense.
A word on the livestream. I monitored the team’s social media accounts leading up to the game. There were plenty of announcements about the match and the venue, and ticket pricing, also about how it was our first home game in three years. All well and good, but nothing on how to catch the game on a live stream or broadcast.
It was only on the day of the game itself that the livestream details were confirmed by the official PWNFT social media, so that they could be watched on the team’s Facebook and YouTube accounts.
This is rather baffling to me. Only 12,000 people can fit in Rizal Memorial. That means the vast majority of potential fans of the team, which is in the tens of millions, can only watch on their TVs, computers, or phones. That’s why, in my opinion, livestream details need to be confirmed and shared weeks in advance. This is crucial in roping in more eyeballs for the matches, which makes the program more attractive to sponsors and adds to its sustainability.
There may be a valid reason for withholding the stream details until late. Maybe it wasn’t finalized? But I hope for something better during the Cambodia games.
It’s time to focus more attention on our women’s league. A look at the starting lineup of the Filipinas will show that the two McDaniel sisters, Long, and De Fazio, play for local teams in the PFF Women’s League. In contrast, the entire CT squad, save for one playing in China and one unattached striker, play their club football in Taiwan.
Obviously, regular training sessions and cohesion throughout the year will be much easier when everyone plays in the same league. Maybe that was on display Tuesday night.
Imagine for a minute if the PFFWL were as popular as, say, the Premier Volleyball League. If Chandler McDaniel and Sara Eggesvik had the pop culture impact of Alyssa Valdez and Eya Laure. That league would fill the Mall of Asia pitch every weekend, livestreams and highlights would get millions of views, sponsors would come pouring in, and clubs awash with cash would get most of the top Filipinas to play here. Not only would the league be thriving, but our national team would be mostly based here and could train more easily with each other more often. Wins all around.
Yes, this may seem like a fantasy right now, but in my opinion, it is something to work towards.
Two Saturdays ago, I checked in on the PFFWL in MOA and had a great time. I watched UST defeat UP and also caught a bit of Stallion getting upset by a determined Capital1 Solar Strikers team.
Philippine football needs to be less national-team-centric. We need to pay attention to our leagues, too. There was so much buzz on this friendly with Chinese Taipei, and now that we have lost, it might feel like the air has all gone out of the women’s game in the Philippines. But that isn’t true. We have our league, UAAP, futsal, and more.
Philippine women’s football might have gotten a slight bruise on Tuesday, but it will battle on. The best is yet to come.
Images courtesy of the Philippine Women’s National Football Team.