Kolkata, August 20: East Bengal FC Women unleashed a goal storm in Malaysia, winning their second match of the AFC Women’s Champions League qualifiers over debutants Rovers FC with a massive 12–0 score on Thursday afternoon at the Likas Stadium, Malaysia. From the start of the match to the finish, the Moshal Girls kept scoring.
Rather than storming, it should be described as an inferno, as the Moshal Girls kept burning high and ended up with a devastating footballing display by Anthony Andrews’ women. The champions of India started scoring from the 6th minute through Priyangka Naorem. In the 15th minute, Anju Chanu’s shot was saved by the Rovers keeper, but she failed to catch it, and Astham Oraon, following it, placed the ball into the net, giving East Bengal a 2–0 lead. Within the 22nd minute, they took a 3–0 lead, with a curling shot from the left inside the box, Priyangka Devi hit the target.
As the game moved on, while saving a shot from Soumya Guguloth, Rovers keeper Almontae got injured. After being checked for a long time, she failed to continue, and Mendiola came on to replace her. The new keeper maintained her unbeaten for the rest of the first half. But the game turned out to be more dangerous in the second half, as in the 48th minute, East Bengal Women made it 4–0 through Olivia Anokye. And in the next minute, Abigail Antwi with her debut goal brought the fifth goal.
In the blink of an eye, the scoreline kept changing as East Bengal’s relentless attack continued, piling on the pressure on the Guam side, who seemed to be drowning. In the 51st minute, Shilky Hemam attempted a shot towards the target. Though the keeper was alert this time and made a save, the defence failed to clear the ball. Sulanjana, with the rebound from the left post side, sent it into the net to add one more goal to the scoresheet.
And within five minutes, with a left top-corner finish, Shilky Hemam found the net for the Moshal Girls, changing the score to 7–0. In the 58th minute, from the right, Olivia Anokye’s shot towards the first post saw Mendiola fail to save, being positioned at the first post, conceding one more goal.
And in the 64th minute, as all of the East Bengal players were up for attacks, Abena Opoku found the net with a long shot, making it 9–0. However, in the 67th minute, Rovers FC got a chance to reduce the score gap with a defensive lapse. Mansapit, beating Abena, moved forward and inside the box in a one-on-one situation and attempted a shot, though debutant Khambi Chanu was alert to deal with it. In the 70th minute, Abena again found the net with a low shot from the edge of the box, completing the 10 goals.
In the 73rd minute, with Shilky Hemam’s pass inside the box, Anju Chanu scored her debut goal for East Bengal Women. The goal-scoring had stopped for the remaining minutes, but the attacking pressure was still on, and that wasn’t enough, as in the last minute of the match, at 90+3 minutes, Soumya Guguloth sealed the game at 12–0 for the Moshal Girls.
With two dominant wins from two matches, East Bengal Women now sit at the top of the group with 6 points, a +16 goal difference, and two clean sheets, the Moshal Girls have made their intentions clear in the qualifiers. The last challenge of the qualifiers awaits on 23rd August against the host side Sabah FC, who are also competitively in the race with the Moshal Girls in the group.
Goal Scorers
6’ 22’– Priyangka Naorem
15’ – Astham Oraon
48’ 58’– Olivia Anokye
49’ – Abigail Antwi
51’ – Sulanjana
55’ – Shilky Hemam
64’ 70’– Abena Opoku
73’ – Anju Chanu
90+3’ – Soumya Guguloth
AFC Women’s Champions League – East Bengal vs Rovers FC highlights
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