PH ladies whip Iraq for 2nd straight win

Sustaining its fiery form, the Philippines whipped Iraq, 4-0, on Wednesday for its second straight win in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Qualifiers at Pamir Stadium in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.

The Filipinos scored all of their goals in the first half as they took the fight out of the Iraqis early to grab maximum points for the top spot in Group A. Coach Leticia Bautista’s charges also beat United Arab Emirates by the same score Monday.

“We all have the same goal in mind which is to qualify for the Asian Cup,” said veteran Patrice Impelido. “But we can’t get ahead of ourselves; [we have to] take it one match at a time.”

Eva Madarang increased her tally to three goals in two matches after firing the opening goal in the 21st minute off a fine through ball from Hannah Parado, before Hali Long doubled the advantage with a header off a corner kick.

Sara Castañeda and Alesa Dolino both got on the scoresheet in stoppage time of the first half to give the Filipinos total command of the match. Irish Navaja came close to adding a fifth in the second half.

With six points from two matches, the Filipinos look on course to grabbing a spot in the eight-nation Asian Cup to be hosted by Jordan next year. As host, Jordan is already qualified for the tournament, which means only the top team from the group will advance.

The Filipinos will face Tajikistan on Friday before clashing with Bahrain on Monday. A duel with Jordan wraps up their qualifying campaign on April 12.