Myanmar’s Ayeyawady ended their AFC Women’s Champions League Group A campaign in style after cruising 3-0 past BAM Khatoon FC at the Thuwunna Football Stadium.
New Than Than scored in each half with Hinari Miyamoto adding a third just after the hour-mark to seal the win for the Myanmar side, who finished third in the standings with three points ahead of winless BAM Khatoon.
Both sides came into the tie after suffering back to back defeats but it was the Myanmar side who capitalised on a shaky start from BAM Khatoon.
Ayeyawady’s high press forced BAM Khatoon’s Melika Motevalli into an error as early as the second minute allowing Nwe Than Than to pounce on the loose ball and release Phyu Phyu Win, whose effort from distance looped over goalkeeper Raha Yazdani and settled in the net.
BAM Khatoon tried to respond, but Mona Hamoudi’s effort was blocked before Fatemeh Shaban sent a long-range free-kick over the bar in the fifth minute.
Ayeyawady continued to create the better chances, with Min Htone May Zitar firing wide in the 14th minute before Yazdani denied Naw Htet Htet Wai’s low effort two minutes later.
The Myanmar side threatened again in the 27th minute when Kurumi Iwashita met Phyu Phyu Win’s cross following a corner but sent her effort high, while Shaban’s strike sailed narrowly over the bar in the 32nd minute.
Ayeyawady picked up where they left off after the break, with Yazdani denying Nwe Than Than from close range in the 48th minute after she was set up by Naw Htet Htet Wai.
Nwe Than Than made no mistake 10 minutes later, however, when Win Win’s through ball released Phyu Phyu Win, who surged into the box before squaring for her teammate to fire into the top left corner.
The Iranian side conceded again in the 63rd minute after Kana Ueda lofted the ball into the box for Hinari Miyamoto, who beat the advancing Yazdani with a deft chip.
Despite their best efforts, BAM Khaton fell short, with Shahnaz Jafari seeing her headed attempt from inside the box in the 80th minute sail over the bar, before Roujin Tamrian was sent off two minutes later after picking up a second yellow card.
he cast for the AFC Women’s Champions League was decided on Saturday following the conclusion of the Group Stage.
The three group winners and runners-up, together with the two best third-placed teams, advanced, with the Knockout Stage Draw to be conducted at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on December 3.
In Group A, defending champions North Korea’s Naegohyang Women’s FC stayed perfect, ending the group stage with nine points after a hard-fought 1-0 win against INAC Kobe Leonessa of Japan.
Jong Kum’s wonderful solo effort was the difference in the tie with both teams having already secured the place in the quarter-finals earlier.
Another North Korean side were also victorious with 4.25 SC defeating India’s East Bengal FC to also finish on nine points as they topped Group B.
Joining them were Korea Republic’s Hwacheon KSPO WFC, who defeated Ho Chi Minh City Women’s FC 3-1 thanks to Lee Su-bin’s brace to finish second, three points adrift of 4.25.
Three teams finished on six points in Group C after Australia’s Melbourne City FC picked up a 2-0 win against Beijing Jingtan Football Club of China PR and PFC Nasaf won 4-0 against Kaya FC-Ilolo of the Philippines.
Nasaf took top spot as the Uzbekistan side had the best head-to-head record among the three teams while Melbourne finished second.
The final two spots in the quarter-finals went to Beijing and East Bengal, who qualified as the two best third-placed finishers.
RESULTS
Group A: Ayeyawady FC (Mya) bt BAM Khatoon (Irn) 3-0; Naegohyang (Prk) bt INA Kobe Leonessa (Jpn) 1-0
Group B: 4.25 FC (Prk) bt East Bengal (Ind) 2-0; Hwacheon KSPO WFC (Kor) bt Ho Chih Minh City (Vie) 3-1
Group C: PFC Nasaf (Uzb) bt Kaya FC Iloilo (Phi) 4-0; Melbourne City (Aus) bt Beijing Jingtan (Chn) 2-0
