AFC Women’s Champions League: Odisha FC’s Campaign Ends In Group Stage

Bhubaneswar: The IWL champions Odisha FC suffered a third straight defeat at AFC Women’s Champions League, losing 0-4 to the club from Chinese Taipei, Taichung Blue Whale on Saturday.

The loss resulted in Odisha’s exit from the competition in group stage after finishing their campaign at the bottom of Group C with zero points.

Taichung started the match aggressively, making a lot of dangerous attacks in the first half. But, they were heavily marked by the Indian defenders who did not give away many chances to their attackers till the 40th minute, a report published on The Bridge stated.

Eventually, in the 42nd minute, Taichung broke the deadlock after a defensive lapse from Odisha who left Chen Jin-wen unmarked in their penalty box and she scored the easy goal on Intanmee’s minus.

After this, they tried to make a quick comeback and went all out in attack, leaving their defense behind, which was caught off-guard by Maho Tanaka and she doubled her team’s lead on the counter-attacking goal, The Bridge reported.

In the second half, Taichung came out with more intensity and better midfield play and showed their class with brilliant passing between their front three, who nullified Maryam’s physical presence with their short passes.

This change in tactics helped them as they added two more goals to their names, firstly Intanmee smashed home a left-footed shot from a Liu Chien Yun through pass, and then in the 69th minute Chen completed her brace on a rebound shot, the report further stated.

With this win, Taichung also booked their spot in the quarterfinals of the competition while Odisha FC’s campaign to get over in the group stage.