Malditas bow to Myanmar side

MANILA, Philippines - Myanmar gave the Philippine Malditas a harsh reality check, dealing the jittery Pinays a 3-0 beating at the start of Group A hostilities in the 2012 AFF Women’s Championship at Thong Nhat Stadium in Ho Chi MInh City Thursday.

The Malditas, who came into the tournament confident with a top-notch crew, surrendered an early goal to San San Maw, who connected off a cross by Khin Moe Wai in a quick counter-attack just five minutes into the match.

Thirty-three minutes later, the Myanmar ladies punished the Filipinas for a miscue by defender Natasha Alquiros with Zat Chi Oo slotting the ball past custodian Inna Palacios.

San Maw gave Myanmar its third goal off a penalty kick two minutes before the whistle, completing the 2011 runner-up’s dominance of the Filipinas, who were described in the ASEAN Football Federation’s match report being “still a long way to be able to compete against the higher-ranked teams in ASEAN.” 

The Malditas face powerhouse Vietnam today in a 4 p.m. matchup (5 p.m. in Manila) that could make or break their quest for a finals stint.

The host Vietnamese were merciless in 10-0 whitewash of Singapore in the other Group A action last Thursday, with striker Nguyen Thi Muon netting four goals (6th, 17th, 23rd and 39th minute) and Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet completing a hat-trick (48th, 53rd and 63rd minute).

“I hope the girls are over first game jitters already. We need to play better vs Vietnam,” said Malditas coach Ernie Nierras.

“Unfortunate we lost to Myanmar. Just need to re-group and get our focus for Saturday’s game,” said skipper Marielle Benitez.