SCOTLAND leaned on Martha Thomas’ brace to beat the Philippine women’s football team Filipinas, 2-0, for a place in the Pinatar Cup finals Saturday in Murcia, Spain.

A striker for the Women’s Super League club Tottenham Hotspur, Ms. Thomas drew first blood for the Scottish in the 22nd minute with a tap-in off a saved attempt by Erin Cuthbert.

The 5-foot-7 veteran doubled their lead 13 minutes later with a fine header off a lovely ball from Claire Emslie into the Philippine box.

With this result, the 25th-ranked Scottish advanced to the one-game finale of the four-nation meet against Finland while relegating the No. 38 Filipinas to the bronze medal match versus Slovenia.

The No. 27 Finnish defeated the No. 44 Slovenians in the other KO semifinal duel, 1-0, on Jutta Rantala’s 18th-minute goal.

Tuesday’s battle for third against lower-ranked Slovenia could be the Philippines’ best chance to break through in the Pinatar Cup, an annual women’s tournament in San Pedro del Pinatar that started in 2020. Prior to the setback to Scotland, the Filipinas went 0-3 and placed fourth of four teams in 2023 when the competition featured a single-round robin format. — Olmin Leyba

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