Collins goal rescues Filipinas
SKYE Leache (No. 8) and the Filipinas open their campaign on a high note with a 1-1 draw with Uzbekistan in the preliminaries of the women’s football event of the 20th Asian Games.
Photograph courtesy of PFF
SKYE Leache (No. 8) and the Filipinas open their campaign on a high note with a 1-1 draw with Uzbekistan in the preliminaries of the women’s football event of the 20th Asian Games.
Photograph courtesy of PFF
Natalie Collins rescued the Filipinas from an opening-day disaster with a late goal that helped them forge a 1-1 draw against Uzbekistan in the women’s football event of the 20th Asian Games at the Gifu Nagaragawa Stadium in Gifu, Japan on Monday.
Making her international debut for the Philippines, the 19-year-old Collins struck in the 89th minute after capitalizing on a defensive blunder by Uzbekistan.
Collins dispossessed Umida Zoirova before calmly beating goalkeeper Maftuna Jonimqulova to score the goal that saved the Philippines from suffering a horror start in this continental showpiece.
Prior to Collins’ heroics, Uzbekistan took the lead in the 81st minute when Mehribon Egamberdieva unleashed a powerful strike past Filipinas goalkeeper Olivia McDaniel.
With the draw, both the Philippines and Uzbekistan posted one point in Group C as they battle for the two quarterfinal spots, with the two best third-place finishers from the groups also advancing to the knockout stage.
The Filipinas are looking to reach the quarterfinals for the second straight Asian Games after making the last eight in Hangzhou in 2023.
