FUTSAL – CHINA defeated Uzbekistan 3-1 to stay perfect in Group A of the AFC Women’s Futsal Asian Cup yesterday.
The hosts finished with nine points with Chinese Taipei three adrift as both advanced to the quarter-finals, while Uzbekistan will need to wait for the remaining fixtures to be completed to know if they qualify as one of the two best third-placed teams.
China were let off the hook in the third minute in front of a capacity-filled Hohhot Sport Centre when Feruza Turdiboeva laid the ball nicely for Gulzoda Amirova, who pulled her effort just wide.
Uzbekistan then felt the weight of China’s pressure as Ke Yaoxiang went close, with her effort crashing against the side netting before Xiong Jing’s shot from distance was blocked by keeper Angelina Polyshkevich.
The Central Asian side were caught off guard in the eighth minute when Ke latched onto Yu Ting’s pass at the top of the area before turning beautifully to convert from above the arc to give China the lead.
Uzbekistan clawed their way back in stunning fashion seconds later after Madina Vokhidova collected the ball deep inside the box before firing a grounded effort from the tightest of angles into the bottom left corner.
Both teams had then had opportunities to break the deadlock with Polyshkevich pulling off two fine saves to deny Zou Yinglan from distance and Fan Yuqiu from inside the box, while Turdiboeva and Safina Rushaniya failed to find the target.
Uzbekistan were kept on their toes in the second half as China unleashed a flurry of attacks with Zhang Rui denied three three times by Polyshkevich.
China’s persistence came to fruition as they retook the lead in the 32nd minute after Ke was quickest to react inside the box when she pounced on a rebounded effort to set up Zhan Zewen to drill the ball into the back of the net.
Ke then showed her class with three minutes left when she turned past her marker before striking home China’s third goal of the evening to seal the win.
Meanwhile, Chinese Taipei has booked their place in the next round with a 1-0 defeat of Australia in their final group stage match.
The East Asians, who reached the quarter-finals on their debut in 2018, repeated the feat at the Hohhot Sports Centre and joined China in advancing from Group A.
It also meant elimination for debutants Australia, who put in their best display of the tournament so far and were perhaps unfortunate not to return home with a point.
Knowing that only a victory would keep their hopes of progression alive, Australia started like a team determined to accomplish that mission.
Marianna Tabain had an early effort saved, while Jessica McLean’s shot was tipped over. Captain Trudy Camilleri turned on a dime only to drag her strike well wide, before Jessica Au really should have buried an opportunity after cutting out an errant pass and being left with just the goalkeeper to beat.
Chinese Taipei found it difficult to get into the game, with moves often breaking down as passes went astray.
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