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AFC.comGroup B: Bangladesh 0-7 VietnamFriday, May 4, 2018Bangkok: Vietnam made it two wins from two in Group B, outclassing inexperienced Bangladesh 7-0 to all but secure a place in the AFC Women’s Futsal Championship quarter finals.
The Southeast Asians – helped by a hat-trick from Do Thi Nguyen, a brace Vo Thi Thuy Trinh and all round quality from Trinh Nguyen Thanh Hang – proved too strong for the futsal newcomers, scoring three goals in the first half before adding four more after the break.
Vietnam took the initiative from the very beginning of the contest, with captain Nguyen Thi Thanh hitting the woodwork with a glancing header in the early moments, and took the lead through Do Thi Nguyen in the third minute.
Exciting goalkeeper Rupna Chakma kept Golam Robbani Chotom’s side in the contest with a string of saves, and successive efforts at goal from Maria, Masura Parvin and Mosammat Shopna added to a growing sense of Bangladeshi momentum.
But two quick goals to Vo Thi Tuy Tranh, the products of slick Vietnamese interplay in the 11th and 12th minutes, gave the scoreboard a more realistic look as Vietnam took a 3-0 lead into half-time.
The second period started with a bang as Bangladesh squandered a golden chance from a 4-on-1 breakaway and were immediately punished by Nguyen Thi Tranh, who made it 4-0 just 35 seconds after the restart.
With an average age of just 16, Bangladesh were game but lacked the futsal nous of their more experienced opponents, who played with poise and patience to regularly create, then exploit gaps in the South Asians’ defence.
That was further emphasised by the fine build-up for Le Thi Thuy Linh’s 24th minute goal, before Do Thi Nguyen doubled her personal tally by placing the ball between the legs of the otherwise impressive Rupna seven minutes later.
Do completed her hat-trick with two minutes remaining, when she volleyed home to make it 7-0 and put the icing on a comprehensive win for Truong Quoc Tuan’s side.
Vietnam’s next objective will be to top Group B, and avoid a quarter-final clash with anticipated Group A winners Thailand, by beating Malaysia on Sunday, while Bangladesh will complete their group stage campaign against Chinese Taipei.
Truong Quoc Tuan: Vietnam Head Coach"Two games and two wins – I am happy so far. It is important that we win the next game because I don’t think any team wants to play against the host team here. We want to avoid Thailand in the quarter-finals if we can.”
Golam Robbani Choton: Bangladesh Head Coach“Vietnam have played for a long time, and we’ve only played futsal for three days. We had our first experience in these three days. Our girls tried and did well. They’re getting a lot of experience and you saw today they did very well in defending. I think our girls always tried to fight.”
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AFC.comGroup A: Macau 0-7 Hong KongFriday, May 4, 2018Bangkok: Hong Kong revived their hopes of reaching the AFC Women's Futsal Championship 2018 quarter-finals after powering to a 7-0 win over Macau on Friday.
After their opening day narrow 2-0 defeat to the hands of Indonesia, Hong Kong's drive for a top two finish in Group A was evident when they came close in the first 30 seconds of the match, when Macau custodian Chao Tsz Wai pulled off a triple save against Chan Wing Sze, Cheung Wai Ki and Wong Shuk Fan.
Hong Kong finally broke the deadlock in the 13th minute with Heidi Yuen Hoi Dik finding the back of the net with a strike from outside the box, courtesy of Shuk Fan's sublime pass after pulling two defenders out of position.
Macau continued to hold on to their defensive strategy, looking to make a break on the counter-attack but Hong Kong were swift with their passes and Yuen earned her brace later with her left footed strike two minutes later, before Ng Wing Kum's long range pass found Yiu Hei Man in the box for a tap in to make it 3-0 going into the break.
Four minutes into the second half, Kuan Chi Kio made a defensive mistake of not clearing the ball from the Macau backline and coupled with Chao failing to catch the ball, Hong Kong's Ng had an easy task of just guiding the ball in.
Chiang Ka Chon's charges did well in defending but Hong Kong were quicker and more confident in their movements around the pitch, and Cheung put herself on the scoresheet with a superb strike in the 28th minute.
Sin Chung Yee was a nuisance to the Macau backline, and a minute from full time, she received a long range pass before handing it to Wong So Han for simple finish to end proceedings.
Macau will take on Indonesia for their third match-up, while Hong Kong make their final attempt to reach the Knockout Stage as they go up against hosts Thailand.
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AFC.comGroup A: Indonesia 1-1 ThailandFriday, May 4, 2018Bangkok: Indonesia held futsal powerhouse Thailand to a 1-1 draw on Friday, throwing Group A of the 2018 AFC Women's Futsal Championship wide open.
With Hong Kong defeating Macau 7-0 in the day's earlier match, Indonesia and Thailand knew that a second win would put them in a comfortable position in the race for a spot in the quarter-finals, and the hosts began brightly.
It was clear, however, that head coach Sumianto had done his research and Indonesia did well in keeping their backline clear of any danger, despite Thailand's continuous efforts.
In the 12th minute, Mutita Sankram came closest for Thailand when they reacted on a counter-attack and she sprinted down the right flank but her shot flew wide, while a minute from the half-time break Indonesia had a counter-attack of their own with Novita leading the charge but her strike was cleared by Pannipa Kamolrat.
It was Indonesia who opened the scoring, when Dinar's deflected pass found Febriana unguarded in front of the box, and while her initial shot was blocked by Kamolrat, her last ditch effort was enough to push the ball in for the lead in the 24th minute.
The celebration, however, was short lived as Nimrattanasing Jiraprapa equalised less than a minute after the restart with her lobbed ball from the left bouncing between the upright and defender Maulina Novryliani, and into the goal.
The tournament debutants showed that they could match Thailand, but a second goal eluded both sides as the final whistle was blown.
Indonesia will face Macau in a decisive third match, while Thailand will take on Hong Kong in a simultaneous kick-off on Sunday.
Kensuke Takahasi: Indonesia Head Coach“I think the players defended very well and ran until the end of the game. I’d really like to thank the players because they ran for the team and they kept the spirit. Against a champion team – we are very happy with this result."
Udom Taveesuk: Thailand Head Coach“Our performance today? We can’t accept it. We’re not happy with our performance today. Despite our training today, we couldn’t reach our target. It means that our players could not understand my plan and my tactics. It was lucky that we could draw. We must improve and correct our mistakes before the next game.”
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AFC.comGroup B: Chinese Taipei 4-2 MalaysiaFriday, May 4, 2018Bangkok: Chinese Taipei shook off the disappointment of their Matchday One defeat to register a 4-2 win over Malaysia in a highly entertaining Group B clash at the AFC Women’s Futsal Championship 2018.
The East Asians were staring down the barrel of elimination at 1-0 down just before half time, but a converted penalty and three second half goals revived their quarter-final hopes.
Malaysia had started promisingly, but the Southeast Asians’ fate will be decided by the jeopardy of a winner-takes-all match against group leaders Vietnam on Sunday.
Knowing their place in the quarter-finals would be secure with a win, Malaysia made the all important breakthrough in the fifth minute when Siti Asnidah Zamri dispossessed Hsieh I-ling before taking a touch and slamming the ball past Li I-chieh for her second goal of the tournament.
While Addie Azwan’s side made a dream start, the rest of their first half was marred by a series of missed opportunities, particularly from counter-attacks.
Hanis missed a sitter seconds after her desperate launch denied Lin Ya-hui at the other end of the court, before Intan Sarah Anisah squandered two opportunities to double the Malaysian lead shortly thereafter.
They paid for their profligacy in the 18th minute, when Norhawa Yasin was shown a red card for handling Chen Ya-chun’s goal-bound effort, and when the 24-year-old stepped up to convert the spot kick, it was 1-1 and game on.
Malaysia had a golden chance to restore their lead when a heavy Chen Pin-hui challenge put Chinese Taipei in foul trouble seconds later, but Siti Nur Atiqah Rashid blasted high and wide from the second penalty mark and the sides remained level at half-time.
Chinese Taipei found themselves in front for the first time in the tournament in the 26th minute, when Wang Shu-wen finished off a fantastic one-two passing move with Chen Ya-chun.
The pendulum had well and truly swung three minutes later, as Chen Ya-chun pulled the strings yet again to set up Hsieh Pei-fen, who calmly rolled the ball under the oncoming Wan Zufirah Nasir to give Chinese Taipei a 3-1 lead.
Wan kept her side’s hopes alive when she stopped Hsieh Pei-fen’s shot after Malaysia conceded their sixth foul for the half with eight minutes remaining, and repeated her heroics when they committed a seventh seconds later.
But it was all no to avail, as Kuo Tsu-erh slotted a fourth to take Chinese Taipei to within sight of three points, but Zurain Kamarudin gave Malaysia a lifeline when she made it 4-2 with five minutes remaining.
The Malaysians spent the remainder of the match with an empty net as they valiantly searched for a way back into the contest, but Chinese Taipei defended diligently to celebrate a famous first ever AFC Women’s Futsal Championship win.
Chang Yao-ming: Chinese Taipei Head Coach“I’m really happy. Our players are doing well in defending. That gives us more chances to attack and that’s why we could win. We also defended well against Vietnam, but Chen Ya-chun just missed one chance and we lost. That’s why I asked her to take the penalty kick tonight, to give her another chance.”
Addie Azwan: Malaysia Head Coach“I think today our players played well, but we missed so many chances and our mistakes allowed Chinese Taipei to score. I think overall, we’ll do our best for Vietnam in the next game. This game was bad for my team in terms of the chances we didn’t score, but in terms of fighting spirit they gave a 100 percent.”
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Luca Ranocchiari -->
luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com
