Uzbekistan produce a five-star performance against Hong Kong

Needing a Matchday Three miracle to advance, Uzbekistan held up their end of the bargain with a dominant 5-1 win over Hong Kong at Lokomotiv; a result rendered hollow by Vietnam's win across town.

Makhliyo Sarikova scored a hat-trick as a substitute, while Lyudmila Karachik bagged a brace as Uzbekistan proved too strong for the visitors, but it wasn't enough to undo last week's 2-1 defeat to Vietnam, which ultimately cost the Central Asians a place in the last eight.

With goals of the essence, Sarikova replaced Ugioly Kuchkarova in the 24th minute and had a near-immediate impact, scoring in the 31st and 43rd minutes to have Uzbekistan 2-0 up at half-time. Karachick made it three in the 57th minute, before former Australian W-League Premiership winner Cheung Wai-ki pulled one back for Hong Kong a minute later.

At that stage, Uzbekistan were potentially one Jordanian goal away from a momentous turnaround, but their plans were scuppered by events at Transportation Institute Stadium, as Sarikova and Karachik both added late goals to round out a bittersweet 5-1 victory.