Match Report – AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers – Taiwan 2-1 Bahrain

亞洲盃男足資格賽-台灣2:1巴林

Late drama as Taiwan beat Bahrain 2-1 at the Taipei Municipal Stadium to keep AFC Asian Cup qualification hopes alive.
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) -- Double-Ten day is always special in Taiwan, but few would have expected this year’s celebrations to end on such a high note at the Taipei Municipal Stadium last night, as the Taiwan national football team took on a Bahrain side who beat then 5-0 as recently as September.

But that’s exactly what happened as the Taiwan team, playing as Chinese Taipei, staged a stunning late fightback to defeat Bahrain 2-1 and keep alive their chances of qualifying for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.

It was a humid evening as the game kicked-off, but the bank holiday scheduling meant a larger than normal crowd of 7,908 were in attendance, and they made their presence felt in the early stages as a scrappy opening saw both sides create few meaningful chances.





Taiwan crowd. (Photo by David Spencer)
But in the 18th minute, that all changed. Bahraini forward Mahdi Abduljabbar, twisted and turned on the edge of the six-yard box and escaped his marker who then tripped him. Despite protests from the crowd it was a clear penalty. Captain Ismaeel Abdulatif Hasan stepped up to drive the penalty to the right keeper Pan Wen-chieh’s despairing dive, and put Bahrain 1-0 up.

That goal dampened the crowd’s spirits a bit and for the rest of the half, the Taiwan team huffed and puffed but struggled to create chances as Bahrain’s tall and physical side coped easily with a succession of long and hopeful balls forward.

They retained possession better and always looked capable of scoring a second, mainly through the dangerous forward runs of Ismaeel and Abdulla Yaser on the flanks. But Taiwan’s defence stood firm and went in at half-time only 1-0 behind.

It was a very different story in the second half. The Taiwan team came out with a lot more energy and they worked hard to get in goal-scoring positions. They won a succession of free kicks around the box but despite a few goal-mouth scrambles, the ball just wouldn’t fall their way. The crowd was also reenergised and every time the team pushed forward, everyone was roaring them on.





In the 67th minute, Taiwan had a big penalty appeal turned down. Chen Wei-Chuan appeared to be pulled down in the box as he tried to get on the end of a cross, but the Japanese referee thought differently and booked two Chinese Taipei players in the subsequent protests.

As the second-half wore on, Bahrain appeared more comfortable and appeared to have settled for a 1-0 win. The Taiwan team appeared tiring and out of ideas. But then the late drama began.

In the 89th minute, Chu En-lee put an inswinging cross into the Bahrain box. Chen Po-liang got away from his marker and stretching with his right foot, managed to get a toe on the ball and direct it past the static Bahraini keeper Sayed Mohsen.

The home crowd erupted, celebrating an equaliser that was well-deserved, but looked like it would never come. But there was more. Two minutes later, Chen Hao-wei escaped down the right and his cross was headed home by Che en-le from point-blank range.


Taiwan fans wait for the team after the game. (Photo by David Spencer)

Delirious scenes ensued as the players, coaching staff, and fans celebrated the most dramatic of turn-arounds. Bahrain tried to respond, with substitute Mohamed Al Banna seeing a powerful volley tipped acrobatically over by Chinese Taipei keeper Pan Wen-chieh. But it was too little too late and the Municipal Stadium crowd stayed long after the final whistle to salute their heroes.




Taiwan manager Gary White. (Photo by David Spencer)