Round Ten of the Mulan League saw Hang Yuan extend their lead at the top after another impressive performance that showcased the team’s combination of technical ability and ruthlessness. 

Elsewhere, multiple mid-table teams got much needed wins whilst a couple of prominent title contenders clashed in a must-win game for both sides in their attempts to stop the current league leaders from running away with the championship.  

AC Taipei: 2 – Taichung Sakura: 1

Led by an all-action performance from Sarah Matsuyama, AC Taipei (5th) picked up a much deserved win over fellow mid-table side, Taichung (4th).

Despite dominating much of the first half, AC Taipei went behind when Sakura were awarded a penalty and Lai Li-chin finished confidently from the spot. However, Taipei were able to tie the game up when Matsuyama collected the ball from a throw-in, turned inside the box before setting up Lin I-tsen to score from close range.

Matsuyama would finally get her goal– and win the game for her side– after Hsu Wei-yun’s cross ricocheted around the penalty box before falling kindly at the feet of the Japanese striker to slot home from perhaps two yards out.

Hang Yuan: 4 – Valkyrie FC: 0

High-flying Hang Yuan (1st) made a serious statement with their dismantling of a plucky opposition on Friday. Indeed, the league’s top side was ahead within four minutes after He Jia-shiuan won an aerial duel from a goal kick and guided the ball towards Pu Hsin-hui, who in-turn exchanged passes with a teammate before calmly finishing past the Valkryie keeper.

If the first goal was technically impressive, the second was outstanding. There seemed little danger when Miwa Tanaka picked up the ball from just inside the halfway line but after she dribbled past two players, the Japanese midfielder then fired a serving shot into the bottom corner for the game’s second goal.

Chen Yu got herself on the scoresheet in the second half after another well-worked move ended with the striker finding the bottom of the net with a shot from twenty yards out. The final goal came when Kano Miyamoto drove into the box from the left hand flank and her zipping cross was dispatched by Pu, albeit via a miskick that totally caught the opposing keeper by surprise.

It was a performance of real swagger and although Valkyrie (6th) never stopped tackling, Hang Yuan clearly want to be champions and played accordingly.

Taichung Blue Whales: 0 – Kaohsiung Attackers: 0

The Blue Whales (2nd) and the Attackers (3rd) both needed to win but also could not afford to lose. The level of intensity could be felt from start and within ten minutes, defender Chang Chi-lan had lashed out at her fellow Taiwanese national player, Chen Jin-wen, after the latter tugged her shirt when both women fought for possession of the ball.

Kaohsiung probably had the best chances, firstly when Minori Wakabayashi sent her header just wide and then later on when Daiana Alaniz’s direct freekick forced Taichung’s Tsai Ming-jung into making an incredible save but in the end, both teams went home with a point.

Taipei Bravo: 0 – Hualien FC: 3

Hualien (6th) moved further away from the bottom of the standings after taking down Taipei Bravo (8th) who remain winless in league play.  

The team from eastern Taiwan opened the scoring in the fifth minute when a jinking run from Li Chun-mei took her past two defenders before the midfielder sent the ball across the goal mouth for Yang Hsiao-chuan to score from close range. Hualien doubled their lead when Chen Yen-ping chipped the ball over the Taipei backline and an onrushing Yang Xuan finished cooly for her second goal of the season.

Huang Hsiang-yi then finished the job for Hualien in the second half when she stole the ball off the feet of a defender as Taipei looked to move the ball across the backline, and with everyone backpedaling, Huang lobbed the ball over a stranded Bravo keeper.

Photo Credit: Kaohsiung Attackers FC (via team instagram)