Fazila Ikwaput scored twice as East Bengal FC began their AFC Women’s Champions League campaign with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City Women’s FC in a Group B contest on Sunday. The win also made East Bengal the first Indian club to register multiple victories in the tournament’s group stage, having beaten Iran’s Bam Khatoon FC 3-1 in the previous edition. The Indian side will next take on Korea Republic’s Hwacheon KSPO WFC on Wednesday, while Ho Chi Minh City will face DPR Korea’s 4.25 SC.
Ikwaput capitalised on Tanaka Hitomi’s powerful header, held off Chesna and calmly slotted past the advancing goalkeeper Tran Thi Kim Thanh to complete her brace. Their best chance to restore a two-goal cushion came in the 74th minute when Anokye set up Ikwaput for a tap-in, only for Cu Thi Huynh Nhu to produce a crucial sliding block. Ho Chi Minh City pushed forward in the closing stages but could not find another breakthrough as East Bengal held on to secure all three points and make a winning start to their continental campaign.
