McDaniel: Defense did it

Filipinas goalkeeper Olivia McDaniel swears it was the team’s defense that proved vital in its successful campaign in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup qualifiers last week in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

McDaniel said they made it their mission to not concede goals in their Group G bid that saw the Filipinas score three wins over Hong Kong, Cambodia and Saudi Arabia and not allowing each one of them to score.

“We were active during those three games and it just shows in our last game (against Hong Kong) that we were all to four to five of us at the back needed to lock in and take care of business,” McDaniel said.

“I think we showed our strength in the last game. I think we were a little bit hard on ourselves but that’s the grind of the sport.”

The Asian Cup qualifiers were also a good testing ground for the team that is getting ready for two major meets in the year.

First will be the ASEAN MSIG Serenity Cup from 6 to 19 August in Vietnam, where they are targetting back-to-back crowns.

Then, there is the 33rd Southeast Asian Games in December in Thailand.

Filipinas head coach Mark Torcaso was likewise delighted over the squad’s stint in Cambodia.

“It’s brilliant because we came here with an objective to qualify and not lose. We did what we needed to do and got nine points,” he said.