Dededo: China PR secured their place in the 2019 EAFF E-1 Women's Championship, defeating Chinese Taipei 2-0 to win the second preliminary round of qualifiers in Guam, while Hong Kong earned a consolation win over Mongolia on Wednesday.
CHINA PR 2-0 CHINESE TAIPEI
Wang Shanshan got the ball rolling with her sixth goal in three matches, before Xiao Yuyi all but confirmed it would be the eight-time Asian champions who took the final place in the 2019 championship when she added a second goal in the 13th minute.
Jia Xiuquan's side required only a draw to seal their place in next year's tournament, but they assumed a winning position as early as the 10th minute, with Wang finally forcing the ball over the goal-line after Chinese Taipei goalkeeper Tsai Ming-jung had initially performed heroics during a goalmouth scramble.
Chinese Taipei's task had become more difficult, but it began to border on insurmountable when Xiao latched onto Li Ying's intelligent headed pass to make it 2-0 just three minutes later.
In 15 previous meetings between the sides, China PR had never conceded a goal, let alone suffered a defeat against Chinese Taipei, and a historic turnaround never seemed likely in the second period, with the Steel Roses looking more likely to extend their lead than cough it up.
While their third goal never came, China PR eased into next year's Finals in Korea Republic, where they will look to add the EAFF E-1 Championship to their long list of international honours.
Despite their superb record in the AFC Women's Asian Cup, the Steel Roses have never won the East Asian title, with a runner-up finish in 2010 their best showing in the competition.
MONGOLIA 0-3 HONG KONG
In Wednesday's earlier match, Hong Kong shrugged off successive defeats to Chinese Taipei and China PR to finish their campaign with a 3-0 win against bottom-ranked Mongolia.
Kwong Wing-yan scored twice in the final minutes of the first half, before Cheung Wai-ki rounded off the scoring in the 77th minute as Jose Ricardo Rambo's side closed their 2018 schedule with their third win of the year.
Mongolia had conceded 16 goals in their opening two matches, but they nearly took a clean sheet to half-time before Kwong pounced on a wayward goal kick in the 43rd minute and unleashed an effort which beat Erdenebileg Tsendjav from 25 yards.
Kwong breached the defensive line to double her tally with a simple finish in first-half stoppage time, with Cheung closing out the scoring with a tap-in after she outpaced a number of Mongolian defenders with 13 minutes remaining.
Photos: Guam Football Association
Source: the-afc.com