The Indian women’s football team put up a spirited show but could not avoid their second consecutive loss, going down 1-2 to Chinese Taipei in a Group D encounter of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup qualifiers at the Faisal Al Huseni Stadium in Ramallah, Palestine, on Thursday.
India needed a win to stay in the hunt for a place in the AFC Cup but their dreams were dealt a blow despite some admirable football.
Yu Hsiu Chin (43rd minute) and Lai Li Chin (81st minute) scored for Taipei, while Sasmita Malik gave India their only goal in the 53rd minute.
The result put Chinese Taipei at six points from two matches while India remain without a point.
If the twice SAFF champions won the tactical battle in the first half, they were by far the better side in the second period.
Head coach Anadi Barua’s ploy of playing deep and attacking on the counter paid off as Taipei, who scored six goals against Palestine in their opening game, were bottled up by India’s defence for most part of the first essay.
The second half belonged to India and especially Malik whose free kick in the 53rd minute left the motley crowd awestruck.
On Saturday, India play Palestine in their last Group D engagement. Taipei and Myanmar — both on six points from two matches — play the decider on the last day too.
“It was nice to be cheered by the locals. We need to keep our spirits high against Palestine and play entertaining football. We need to find the target,” said striker Kamala Devi.
Though Palestine sit at the bottom of the table of Group D having conceded 15 goals in two matches, Barua is not keen on taking them lightly. “They have lost two matches and will come hard at us. We have played well and want to end things on a high. We aim to finish on a good note,” he said.