Another game, another cruel ending for Taiwan. The Blue Wings played well– and often looked like the better side on the field– but were ultimately undone by moments of genius as well as absurdity. As was the case in December’s tough loss to Hong Kong, Taiwan showed they can compete with nations of a similar ability but at some point, the narrow losses have to become something more respectable if the team is going to turn the corner.

Despite the game being played in balmy conditions in Kaohsiung, Taiwan looked confident and comfortable early on. By contrast, the Turkmen seemed more interested in pressing buttons and trying to annoy their hosts. Two of the visiting players were booked within the first twenty minutes whilst Chris Tiao appeared to shove another Turkmen that was trying to delay a free kick.

For most of the first half, neither keeper was made to work especially hard. Rasul Caryyev did well to push Jhon Benchy’s shot past the post but other than that and a wild attempt from Ange Kouame, Taiwan were struggling to get chances on goal. Indeed, the game was constantly getting bogged down the middle of the field, as both sides turned the ball over before they could establish any real momentum.

The second half quickly became more frenetic. Indeed, Turkmenistan scored within two minutes of the restart when Elman Tagayev found room just inside the penalty box and curled home a fantastic effort past a stranded Huang Chiu-lin.

Having conceded a goal out of nowhere, Taiwan had no choice but to throw caution to the wind. With the excellent Tiao constantly finding space on the left flank and Kouame dropping deep to pick up the ball, Turkmenistan suddenly seemed unsure of themselves.

Taiwan were huffing and puffing but they finally got the breakthrough when Kouame baited a Turkmen defender into giving away a cheap freekick just outside the box. From the resulting set-piece, Kouame picked his spot perfectly and his swerving effort was too good for Caryyev to save. Both teams had now scored through outstanding efforts and it was very much game on. 

Yet with Turkmenistan on the ropes, Taiwan instead found a way to shoot themselves in the foot. Attacking down the right-hand side of the field, an innocuous Turkmenistan cross was chested down in the box by Chen Po-liang.

In that moment, it was unclear who was supposed to finish the defensive assignment. Huang clearly assumed the ball was going to be booted away to safety by one of his centerbacks, whilst the defenders appeared to think the keeper was coming for it. Instead, with the Taiwanese backline frozen, Yazgylyc Gurbanow was unexpectedly rewarded for his speculative run into the box and fired the ball home. It was a moment of acute frustration for everyone in a Taiwan shirt as the Turkmen celebrated gleefully.

Moreover, with a little more than 5 minutes to play, the visitors knew how to eat the clock and promptly killed the game off. Whether it was players kicking the ball away to stop a quick free-kick or falling to the ground with cramp only to magically recover as if by magic, the Turkmen were in no mood for sportsmanship.

After several minutes of added time, the whistle blew and several Taiwanese players fell to the ground, some due to genuine issues with cramp and others due to frustration. The home side were arguably the better team but left with nothing after a dogged Turkmen side waited out their opponents to steal all three points. It was a tough break for Taiwan, who continue to show promise only to fall at the final hurdle.

Photo Credit: CTFA