Filipinas ride dominant first half, rout Fiji in friendly
MANILA, Philippines — The Filipinas began their preparations for the 31st Southeast Asian Games on a high note with a 7-2 victory over Fiji in an international friendly at the Western Sydney Wanderers Football Park on Thursday.
As the rain poured on the pitch, so did the goals for the Philippine national team as three different players scored braces.
Birthday girl Quinley Quezada was the first to find the back of the net at the 13th minute, and Anicka Castaneda doubled the advantage not long after.
Dominique Randle then bagged her first goal for the Philippines at the 34th minute mark with an opportunistic touch to increase the lead to 3-nil.
But it was in the final five minutes of the opening half when the floodgates opened for the Philippines as they scored three goals in a four-minute time span to push the score to 6-0.
Tahnai Annis scored in the 40th and 43rd minutes for her brace while Castaneda netted her second goal after 44 minutes.
Though two goals by Fiji courtesy of Cema Nasau and Adi Volitikoro in the 50th and 63rd minute of the second half dampened the Philippines' dominance, Quezada capped the game off positively for the Philippines with her final goal in the 79th minute.
This is the Philippines' first international friendly since 2019.
The Filipina booters will play Fiji again on Monday, April 11, still as part of their preparations for the 31st SEA Games in Hanoi this May.
They are looking to finish in the podium of the biennial meet for the first time in program history.
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