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AFC Women’s Champions League:
Khatoon hammered by Wuhan Jiangda, crashes out in group stage
Even a one-goal defeat would have been enough for the Iranian champion to progress to the quarterfinals of the Asian elite clubs’ competition for a second year in a row, but Sunday’s setback in Wuhan saw Marziyeh Jafari’s side finish bottom of the group table with three points.
The group host topped the standings with seven points, three ahead of PFC Nasaf of Uzbekistan and India’s East Bengal FC.
Wuhan Jiangda forced Bam Khatoon onto the back foot from the start with Dai Chenying’s close-range effort in the fourth minute before Deng Mengye narrowly missed the target 10 minutes later.
Bam Khatoon goalkeeper Raha Yazdani kept her team in the game with a series of superb stops – denying Dai Chenying again in the 15th minute and producing two solid saves to stop Kim Hye-ri and Song Fei’s efforts from distance.
The breakthrough finally came in first half stoppage time when Wuhan Jiangda capitalized on with Mavis Owusu rising highest to nod home a precise cross from Song Fei, which slipped the clutches of Yazdani.
Wuhan Jiangda nearly doubled their advantage just before the half-time whistle, with Deng Mengye denied from point-blank range by another excellent save from Yazdani.
Bam Khatoon fell further behind in the 50th minute when Song Fei delivered a pin-point cross to Owusu, who applied a composed finish into the bottom right corner.
The Iranian side tried to respond through Mona Hamoudi, who forced Wuhan Jiangda keeper Ding Xuan into a save but the momentum never shifted as it conceded again five minutes later.
Song Fei was again the orchestrator, delivering a cross from the left for Deng Mengye to power home a header into an unattended net after Yazdani had come off her line in an attempt to clear the danger.
Wuhan Jiangda added a fourth in the 88th minute after Deng Mengye struck the bar with a headed attempt with the rebound falling kindly for Zhao Jingyi to slot home from close range to seal the victory.