Pinay XI blanks Tajikistan

MANILA, Philippines - A dominant Philippines rained goals on host Tajikistan and ran away with an 8-0 rout to inch closer to a historic qualification spot in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Friday night at Republican Central Stadium in chilly Dushanbe.

Hali Long fired a hat-trick (38’, 59’, 84’) while Anicka Castaneda (34’, 85’) scored a brace to lead the Pinay booters to their third straight shutout win in Group A.

Eva Madarang (17’), Sara Castaneda (48’), and Mary Duran (90’) joined the parade as Phl positioned itself to just one draw away from progressing to the 2018 tourney in Jordan.

The Filipinas can achieve this in Monday against third-running Bahrain (four points).

It was the biggest triumph for Phl in the qualifiers after previously dumping United Arab Emirates and Iraq via identical 4-0 scorelines.