Hang Yuan opened up a three point lead at the top of the table thanks to a composed victory in the latest round of the Taiwanese Football Premier League. With all eight teams playing, Hang Yuan were also helped out immensely by the results of other games being played at the same time. Meanwhile long-time league stalwarts Taipower continued to underwhelm at the opposite end of the table.

AC Taipei: 2 – Tainan City: 2 

The second and third placed teams shared the spoils in a game that both desperately needed to win if they are to finish the season as champions. Tainan (3rd) took the lead with thirty-six minutes played when Wang Ruei got his head onto Mohamed Sakkouh’s corner kick.

The Hawks probably thought they had won the game when Diocunda Gory seized upon an awful back pass to take the ball round the keeper and double Tainan’s lead with five minutes to go.

But incredibly Taipei (2nd) scored twice in the final three minutes of injury time to steal a point. Firstly, Huang Sheng-chieh got on the end of Huang Wei-chieh’s cross and guided the ball home from close range. With seconds ticking down, a botched Tainan clearance then fell kindly to Huang Sheng-chieh, who launched his own cross into a packed penalty box where captain Yugo Ichiyanagi was waiting to power another header into the goal to rescue the game for his team. 

Taichung Futuro: 3 – Ming Chan University: 1 

Futuro (5th) picked up a solid win as they outworked bottom side, Ming Chan (8th). The home side were ahead within three minutes after Chen Ting-yang intercepted an misplaced pass before finding Hung Wei-chen, who then dribbled into the box and scored with a low but powerful shot. 

Matías Godoy equalized for Ming Chan from the penalty spot after a daft foul from Nagisa Sakurauchi. But Futuro eventually retook the lead just before halftime when Lai Yi-chiao pounced on a poor defensive clearance by a Ming Chan defender and fired a shot past the keeper with his left foot.

Taichung then iced the game with a well-worked move midway through the second half. With space opening up on the right-hand side, Hung’s pass into the box created a clear sight of goal for Lai but the striker smartly moved the ball along for an unmarked Hsu Heng-pin to fire under the keeper’s legs and into the net. 

Taichung Rock: 0 – Tatung FC: 1 

Tatung (4th) continued their gradual climb up the table after a dogged victory on the road against Taichung Rock (7th).

The only goal of the game came in ‘route one’ fashion although Tatung will not care much. A hopeful long ball from Taiyo Izumi seemed to hang in the air for hours before finally falling into the box. Whether it was the angle of the cross or the awkward fading light, Taichung’s defenders lost track of the cross, allowing Yu Chia Huang to head the ball in from close range. 

Taipower: 0 – Hang Yuan 2 

Hang Yuan (1st) maintained their spot at the top of the table by scoring either side of halftime against a floundering Taipower (6th) side.

The league leaders broke the deadlock within the first six minutes of the game when Genki Tateiwa dribbled into the box before whipping in a low cross. Although Taipower’s keeper, Huang Chiu Lin, got a hand to it, he inadvertently palmed the ball into the path of Naoki Kaneko, who tucked the ball home from close range.

The game was put beyond doubt when Tateiwa once again attacked down the flank before finding Lin Chen, who then passed the ball backwards to Kang Tae-won. With time to set his feet, the Taiwanese national team player found the top corner with a shot from just inside the penalty box to end the contest in dramatic fashion. 

Photo Credit: Li Weiru (Go Goal)