The Philippine women's national football team made a gallant stand but still absorbed a 1-0 defeat against Chile in their second friendly at the Estadio Municipal de la Pintana in Santiago on Tuesday, Nov. 15 (Wednesday in Manila).
Chile stamped its class from the get-go as Karen Araya hit the lone goal in the 24th minute, besting Filipinas goalkeeper Olivia McDaniel in close-quarter combat.
A costly yellow card being slapped the second time around in the 53rd minute to midfielder Sara Eggesvik proved to be another torn for the Filipinas.
The Filipina booters had stronger chances in the second half off Quinley Quezada's attempt even as Bella Flanigan's effort only hit the crossbar.
The likes of Sarina Bolden and Katrina Guillou joined in the fray to create the equalizer for the nationals but to no avail.
The loss wrapped up the Filipinas' first trip to South Africa as they settled for a 1-1 draw in Viña Del Mar last Nov. 12. The team is currently at No. 53 in the FIFA World Rankings
Still, head coach Alen Stajcic continues to seek the positives and lauded his wards for the heart and spirit against the Chileans, who were ranked No. 38 in the world.
"We’ve never played against South American opposition before so it was an excellent opportunity for us to grow and develop and become better footballers leading into the World Cup," said Stajcic.
"I thought the first game we showed some good signs defensively and we were disciplined like we were often this year whereas in the second game, I thought in the first half we lacked the intensity and drive that we should have and should be the foundation of the team so that was a little bit disappointing but you know we more than compensated for it in the second half."