Taichung Blue Whale on Sunday missed the few chances they created and had to settle for a scoreless draw against College of Asian Scholars (CAS) as the Thai club finished top of the AFC Women’s Club Championship East Group in Chonburi, Thailand.
Due to CAS’ advantage on goal-difference, the Taiwanese champions needed a win to advance to the final in October, while the 0-0 draw was sufficient for CAS, who are based in the city of Khon Kaen, after both sides defeated Myanmar’s ISPE.
Blue Whale had beaten ISPE 3-2, with a brace from Su Yu-hsuan and another goal from Thai midfielder Silawan Intamee, while Khin Marlar Tun and Shwe Yee Tun found the net for the Burmese side.
Photo courtesy of the CTFA
CAS had shut out ISPE 2-0 to set up the showdown on Sunday.
It was a tense affair with both sides unable to make a breakthrough, although there were opportunities in both halves, with CAS to face either Uzbekistan’s Sogdiana or Iran’s Bam Khatoon in the final on Oct. 21.
“In these matches, we encountered higher skill levels in fighting for the ball and physical defending, along with swift, short passing and very accurate long passing,” Blue Whale head coach Lu Kuei-hua said. “It is stronger and quicker in all aspects, which we do not experience in our domestic women’s league.”
She said her coaching staff had studied CAS’ key players, including Phonphirun Philawan and Meekham Sangrawee, and had implemented tactics to counter their pace and ensure that the defenders did their job against their attacking plays.
“Though we did not win this match, our players have done their job well to contain the opposition’s offense. Our team should get due credit, since it is not easy against such a top-level team and we were able to hold them scoreless to earn a draw,” Lu said.
Meanwhile, domestic action resumed with a makeup game on Saturday, with table-toppers Hualien City hosting third-placed Taipei Bravo.
Hosts Hualien grabbed the three points after scoring the only goal of the game in the 75th minute from a corner, defender Chen Ya-hui heading into the net to claim the 1-0 win.
In the men’s Taiwan Football Premier League on Sunday, the top two teams fought to a scoreless draw when Taichung Futuro visited Taipower at the National Stadium in Kaohsiung.
“We focused on how to defend against Futuro’s potent forward line,” Taipower head coach Chen Kuei-jen said. “In the hot weather, our players were drained physically and lost their pace in the second half, so we faced several dangerous situations late in the game. It was fortunate for us that Futuro hit the post and also shot wide, although our players defended well with determination, despite being exhausted.”
“We were lucky in the end to not give up a goal and it was a hard earned draw,” he said.
In the other game, AC Taipei battled to a 2-2 draw at Tainan TSG.
AC Taipei midfielder Chen Yi-yen controlled a long pass and blasted it in for the opening goal after eight minutes, but TSG striker Marc Fenelus of the Turks and Caicos Islands equalized a few minutes later.
TSG went ahead shortly after halftime when from a corner, Ivorian playmaker Ange Samuel found himself alone in front of goal to slot his team’s second.
AC Taipei midfielder Huang Sheng-chieh volleyed an equalizer in the 75th minute and both sides had to settle for a point.
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