The second match of the EAFF E-1 Football Championship 2017 Round 2 HONG KONG Women’s tournament took place on Tuesday afternoon as Hong Kong were defeated 5-0 by Chinese Taipei.

Chinese Taipei pressured in the early minutes at Hong Kong Football Club, moving deep into the final third but failing to finish with a shot.

Their luck changed in the sixth minute, when LAI Li-Chin’s corner kick was well-met by LIN Ya-Han, who rose from behind several Hong Kong players to head the ball in with little trouble.

Chinese Taipei continued to press for a second goal, Hong Kong remained composed and allowed few opportunities, with goalkeeper LEUNG Wai Nga several saves including an impressive diving clearance in the 17th minute.

Just two minutes later, LAI provided LIN’s second goal of the day, an identical corner leading to an identical header virtually unmarked by Hong Kong’s defenders.

The home crowd attempted to rally their side, who rarely penetrated the Chinese Taipei penalty area until WAI Yuen Ting’s probing shot was easily handled by goalkeeper CHU Fang-Yi in the 27th minute.

Soon after came some individual skill from PAO Hsin-Hsuan, who split a pair of defenders to meet WANG Hsiang-Huei’s through pass and turned to deliver a skillful shot just inside the left post in the 31st minute.

Rain continued to fall as the second half kicked off, with both goalkeepers lightly challenged in the opening minutes.

Chinese Taipei’s first chance of the half came in the 53rd minute, when LEE Hsiu-Chin recovered the ball from two Hong Kong defenders who fell near the end line and send a low cross that was fumbled by goalkeeper LEUNG before a defender cleared the ball out of play.

With both teams struggling to build momentum in slick conditions, Chinese Taipei found their fourth goal in the 64th minute courtesy of LEE, who stuffed in a loose ball following yet another superb LAI cross.

With a loss all but certain, Hong Kong’s best attacking opportunities came in the final 10 minutes, particularly in the 84th minute when WONG So Han’s well-aimed corner kick was headed wide by CHAN Wing Sze and CHEUNG Wai Ki forced a save with her strong grounder.

Unfortunately for the hosts the score would not end 4-0, as WANG’s shot was parried but Hong Kong’s LEUNG fell injured during the attempted clearance, allowing CHEN Yen-Ping to score on an empty net in the 87th minute.

By Cesare Polenghi (twitter)