MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine women's national football team U-20 squad once again survived having one less player after they forced a 2-2 draw with Hong Kong to cap off their campaign in the 2024 AFC U20 Women's Asia Cup Qualifiers in Laos on Sunday.
As they missed out on a spot in the next round, the young Filipinas were able to share a point with Hong Kong after Isabella Pasion scored the equalizer in the 54th minute.
Too much aggressiveness from the Filipinas in looking for the game-winner turned into two yellow cards for Kylie Yap, who was sent off at the 81st minute, forcing the youngsters to repel a determined Hong Kong side until the final whistle a player down.
Sparked by the momentum of their breakthrough win over Laos on Friday, where Yap coincidentally netted the game's only goal, the Filipinas were the first to find the back of the net with a Robyn Dizon goal at the 11th minute.
But Hong Kong was able to draw level with an Alexis Lee equalizer before the half-hour mark.
Hong Kiu Anke Leung then towed Hong Kong ahead with their second goal in added time as halftime saw Hong Kong up one goal, 2-1.
Fortunately for the Filipinas, Pasion was able to net one more goal to salvage the draw and share the points.
The Philippines, under the tutelage of Nahuel Arrarte, thus finished second in Group A with four points built off of a win and a draw.
Group winner China, as of press time, has yet to play its last match against hosts Laos. Still, China is already assured of a spot in the next round as it already has six points with wins over the Filipinas and Hong Kong.