Dionesia Tolentin (in white) shakes off a Kuwaiti defender on the way to her —CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
The Philippines’ quest to qualify for the AFC Women’s Futsal Asian Cup amid controversy surrounding its buildup got off to a winning start on Saturday with the determined Filipinos dominating Kuwait, 4-1, in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
Katrina Guillou showed that she can also perform on the indoor version as the Filipinas striker produced two goals to help the team secure the maximum three points at Yunusobod Sport Complex.
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Bella Flanigan and Dionesa Tolentin also found the net as new coach Rafa Merino won his debut match since replacing Vic Hermans, whose sacking by the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) didn’t come without criticism from then team manager Danny Moran.
No more pressure
The authoritative win should also shake off any pressure the squad may have been carrying due to those issues and high expectations of topping Group C given by no less than PFF president John Gutierrez.
Achieving that faces another stern test on Monday when the Philippines takes on group host Uzbekistan, which didn’t play in Saturday’s opener.
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The group match saw Australia beating Turkmenistan, 6-1. The top two teams and possibly the third placer in Group C will qualify for the Asian Cup slated in May in China.
Guillou, who has 13 international goals for the Philippines, immediately put one on her indoor career account when she produced the opener with barely two minutes into the contest, smashing the rebound from close range off Sara Castañeda’s blocked attempt.
The scoreline stood until halftime before Guillou’s fellow 2023 Fifa Women’s World Cup veteran Flanigan doubled the lead with 17:58 left in the second half, lobbing a shot after her first one was stopped by the Kuwaiti keeper.
Tolentin made it 3-0 with 13:05 remaining with a strike from far out. Kuwait averted a shutout on Shrouq Mohammad’s goal, time down to 4:44, before Guillou answered back near the end to complete a brace. INQ
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