East Bengal at top of AFC Women's Champions League Preliminary stage points table

East Bengal defeated Phnom Penh Crown in their first match.

East Bengal FC displayed in the first match of the AFC Women’s Champions League why they are so highly rated. The defending Indian Women’s League champions aced their first challenge in the preliminary stage as they registered a 1-0 victory over Cambodia’s Phnom Penh Crown.

The scoreline suggests it was a close affair; indeed, it was. But Anthony Andrews, the East Bengal manager, would take the result any day. His team fought hard and scraped three points, all that matters in the preliminary stage.

Also Read: East Bengal register a narrow victory over Phnom Penh Crown in AFC Women’s Champions League

East Bengal atop the points table

With the win over Phnom Penh Crown, Red and Golds achieved three valuable points and sit at the top of the points table. The AFC Women’s Champions League preliminary is a short campaign with only two matches for each team. This format warrants the clubs to be ruthless and not squander any opportunity of claiming a victory.

East Bengal are grouped with Cambodia’s Phnom Penh Crown, who are also the hosts, and Kitchee SC from Hong Kong. After a defeat in the opening fixture, Phnom Penh Crown are looking down the barrel of elimination. They are at the bottom of the table after losing out on three points against East Bengal.

East Bengal to face Kitchee SC next

The Red and Gold Brigade have made an impressive start, and now the challenge will be to continue the form in the next match against Kitchee SC to confirm their qualification to the group stage. A slight advantage that East Bengal have is the gap between the two matches.

Unlike Kitchee SC, who will play Phnom Penh Crown on August 28, leaving them with just two days of recuperation before their match against Red and Golds.

To make it to the group stage of AFC Women’s Champions League, this will be a must-win affair for the defending IWL Champions. There would be a sense of self-belief in the camp after grinding a victory against Phnom Penh Crown.

Fazila Ikwaput did the job for East Bengal in the first game, stepping up for the team when it was required. Anthony Andrews would be expecting something similar, not just from her but from other players as well, on August 31 when his team takes on Kitchee SC.

For more updates, follow Khel Now on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Whatsapp & Telegram.