China power past Chinese Taipei 5-0
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E-mail China.org.cn, February 11, 2020
China qualified for the final Play-off round of the AFC Women's Olympic Tournament, defeating Chinese Taipei with a comprehensive 5-0 win at the Campbelltown Stadium on Monday.
Wang Shanshan continued her triumphant return to the team with a brace, while Tang Jiali, Wu Haiyan and Li Ying also got their names on the scoresheet in a stunning five-goal first-half blitz.
Fresh from a 6-1 win over Thailand in their tournament opener on Friday, Jia Xiuquan's charges picked up from where they left off, with Tiang Jiali heading in Luo Guiping's cross within five minutes to get the scoring underway.
The Steel Roses had laboured to a 1-0 win over Chinese Taipei as recently as December, but they made light work of their East Asian rivals on this occasion, powering clear in an impressive first-half display underpinned by another superb outing in the final third.
While Chinese Taipei stabilised to reach the 20-minute mark without further damage, four Chinese goals in a devastating 10-minute spell ended the match as a serious contest well before referee Mahsa Ghorbani blew the half-time whistle.
The goal rush began when captain Wu blasted the ball home after Chinese Taipei failed to clear a corner kick in the 24th minute, before Wang combined physicality with finesse to find the net in the 27th and 30th minutes.
After several near misses, China's other sharpshooter, 2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup top scorer Li Ying, finally got her well-deserved goal, sliding the ball under Tsai Ming-jung in the 34th minute to give the Steel Roses a handsome five-goal advantage at the interval.
Chinese Taipei managed to stem the tide after the break, and even hit the upright with 12 minutes remaining, with Lin Ya-hui's header only inches away from sneaking in after a precise corner kick delivery from Chen Yen-ping.
As in their first match over Thailand, China's intensity faded throughout the latter stages of the match, but their blistering start meant they will go into Thursday's probable group decider against Australia well in contention for first place.
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