THE Philippines suffered its first loss in the Asean Football Federation (AFF) Women’s Championship 2022 following a 1-0 defeat to Thailand in their final Group A match on Tuesday, July 12, 2022, at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila.A defensive lapse from defenders Dominique Randle and Sofia Harrison led to a header by Kanyanat Chettabutr in the 75th minute.After the goal, forward Sarina Bolden, who scored a hat trick the previous match, was sent in by Philippines head coach Alen Stajcic for added offense.Bolden had a perfect opportunity to give the Filipinas a scoring opportunity after being tackled inside the box. The referee, however, didn’t blow the whistle for a foul, which could have been a penalty kick.The Philippines were scrambling for an equalizer but failed to get it.“We played very well for nearly the whole game, but were punished by that one error. But that’s football, especially when you play against top quality opposition like Thailand,” said Stajcic in a report postes at the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) website. “We also had four or five good chances but failed to complete them.”The Philippines had more scoring chances with 11 shots compared to Thailand’s eight. The Philippines also had five shots on target compared to Thailand’s four.With the loss, the Philippines finished second in Group A with 12 points, while Thailand finished first with 13 points.The Filipinas, however, already earned a slot in the semifinals coming into the match. The Philippines will take the second semifinals seed from Group A and take on the winner of the Group B match between Vietnam and Myanmar last night.The semi finals are scheduled on Friday, July 15. (SunStar Cebu)