Thailand coach Piyakul Kawnamkang exhaled a sigh of relief while his Philippines counterpart Ernie Nierras wondered about some ‘Super Candy’ that would transform Iran to a superpower at the post-match conference of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup group ‘B’ qualifiers at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday. Piyakul praised his players for the efficient effort. “It was a difficult match and my players had to give more than hundred percent. Philippines initiated strong attacks and we had to fight it out till the end. They have a number of players who are based in US and they are strong. They made the time difficult, however we played well to win the match,” he said. The Thai coach wants to remain focused though he had registered two consecutive wins. “We want to look forward and continue the winning streak. Winning is important, margin is not a factor. We are focused to win our last match and qualify for the final round,” said the Thai coach. Meanwhile, Philippines’ Ernie was rued the wasted chances. “Hats off to Thailand. They played well, but also took some non-sporting steps as the goalkeeper wasted too much time in the dying minutes faking an injury. My attackers were a bit low today and we wasted the chances and lost in the end,” said Ernie. Ernie also admitted that his star forward Anne Shugg should have scored a goal from the chances that fell in her way. “However, we dominated the second-half and I think that’s the real picture of Philippines. We committed a number of mistakes like the goalkeeper should not have rushed forward. I wonder if there is any Super Candy that I would present to Iran so they can beat Thailand in the next match by a good margin and we win our last match to qualify,” said the Philippines coach.
Wednesday, March 26, 2025
