India, Nov. 28 -- Anthony Andrews had tried everything. The East Bengal coach had got his team to waste time, killed more seconds by making stoppage-time substitutions, introduced more defenders. For seven of the eight minutes of stoppage time, and for 45 minutes before that, East Bengal did hold on. And then, FC Nasaf scored the third goal that would take them to the quarter-final of the AFC Women's Champions League - at East Bengal's expense.

"Of course, we are disappointed," Andrews said the next day, speaking from Wuhan, China. "But as much as it made us aware of where we stand, I am happy with what we achieved. Even in the qualifiers, we were not expected to win a game." Including the qualifiers, East Bengal won two and drew one out...