Coach urges A-League clubs to take punt on Taiwanese talent

An international coach has urged A-League Women clubs to back in talented Taiwanese players who briefly threatened a boilover in Melbourne.

Chinese Taipei coach Chan Hiu Ming has urged A-League Women clubs to look at his most talented players after a plucky 3-1 loss to the Matildas on Wednesday night.

Chan said Taiwanese goalscorer Chen Jin-wen had been “underestimated” and was deserving of an opportunity as only two players in the squad for this series plied their trade overseas.

The diminutive Chen, who plays locally for Taichung Blue Whale, beat Charli Grant to the drop of a long ball and stepped around the defender and keeper Mackenzie Arnold with clever footwork to score the national side’s first goal against Australia since 2007.

It was a vastly improved performance from the world No. 41 side, which had parked the bus during a 3-0 loss in Perth during Olympic qualifying last year.

Taiwanese striker Chen Jin-wen (no. 17) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal during Chinese Taipei’s 3-1 loss to the Matildas at AAMI Park on Wednesday night. Picture: Daniel Pockett / Getty Images

“(Striker Su Yu-hsuan played) really well, because she is one of the only two players that in our team is playing overseas – she plays in China,” the coach said.

“So I really hope today, maybe some of the A-League team can see our players’ performance and try to give more opportunities to help.

“Because our country’s league is still not yet as competitive as like, the A-League.

“I really hope our players can have a chance to go abroad, to learn more under this kind of intensity – then we will improve.”

Chan, a 49-year-old former Hong Kong futsal player, was at the helm of Hong Kong Premier League side Lee Man for five years before he took the Chinese Taipei job in May last year.

In an under-resourced national set-up, his responsibilities on the Australian trip extended to managing the team’s nutrition and fitness regimens as well as acting as interpreter for his players with the media.

Chinese Taipei head coach Chan Hiu Ming has been busy performing an array of important roles on his side’s trip to Australia, and is advocating for his players to get opportunities in the A-League Women. Picture: Daniel Pockett / Getty Images

He asked the Australian journalists to send photos from his post-game press conference to him so he could post on the team’s social media accounts.

Chan was reluctant to pump up his side’s chances of beating an inexperienced Matildas side in the second and final game in Geelong on Saturday.

“We don’t want to lose, but for me (Wednesday) was a proud performance from my team,” he said.

“Today we had a couple of opportunities … but back to the reality, we still have (some) difference between the level of quality on the field (compared to the Matildas).

“But at least my players, from today’s experience, I hope at least on Saturday we have a performance even better than today.”

Originally published as Coach urges A-League clubs to take punt on Taiwanese talent