CHINESE TAIPEI DEF. HONG KONG

PRESS RELEASE – Chinese Taipei executed a well-oiled passing game to shock Hong Kong 7-0 on Day Two of the AFC U16 Women’s Championship Group D Qualifier Thursday at the Guam Football Association National Training Center.

Chinese Taipei’s captain Lin Hsiao Yun (10) celebrates with teammate Yang Chia Hui (15) after Yang’s goal. (courtesy photo)

“We’ve only been training together for about one month, so I’m very happy to see that today they played as a team to win,” said Chinese Taipei head coach Chen Ya-Ling through a translator after the match. “Hong Kong was a strong team, so again, I’m happy with the result.

“We watched Guam’s game against Hong Kong two days ago and we saw that Guam is a really good team. We’ll just prepare for our practice session (today) and we’ll play our best against Guam,” Chen added.
Chinese Taipei opened scoring in the 11th minute with a shot from defender Chen Chia Ling. Midfielder Huang Ching Hui followed with another goal nine minutes later. Hong Kong’s defense tried desperately to stop the bleeding, as Chinese Taipei went on to score three more goals in the half – two from Yang Chia Hui and one from Huang Chuan-Ting before she was substituted.

The second half saw a tighter and smarter Hong Kong defense, forcing Chinese Taipei to get more creative with shots. One of Hong Kong’s best opportunities for a goal came early in the second half on a free kick from the left side, but Chinese Taipei’s goalkeeper Lin Pei-Shan managed to catch the shot on frame.

Hong Kong’s Fu Chiu Man sends the ball away from Chinese Taipei forward Yang Chia Hui. (courtesy photo)

As the game drew on, Chinese Taipei was able to find a few gaps in Hong Kong’s defense, adding two goals in the 85th and 87th minutes from substitutes Lin Mei Huan and Lin Shih-Chuan, respectively.

“We lost two early goals from right side crosses, so we made some corrections in our left-side defense in the second half and it was much better,” said Hong Kong coach Ng Wing Kum. “I noticed that their fitness level dropped for this game, as they just had one day of rest and they don’t have the experience of playing tight schedules. As they were quite tired, we planned to prevent goals and just find the right opportunities to score.

“They are still very much learning. In the first game against Guam, we were trying to win the game, but in this game against Chinese Taipei, the main objective was defense. I’m satisfied with them – they played hard and aggressive for a whole 90 minutes. It’s a good way for them to start their football careers from here,” Ng added.

Chinese Taipei will face Guam in the final match of the qualifier Saturday at 4 p.m. Since the top two teams from each group advance to the next round, both Chinese Taipei and Guam will advance regardless of the outcome of Saturday’s match; however, both teams will be fighting to be undisputed champions of Group D. Admission is free to watch and all are welcome to attend.