In the first round of Mulan League games in 2026, the league’s three best teams all got the results they needed but it would not be easy. Two goal keepers also had outstanding games; one reminding the national team-set up that they still need her veteran presence and the other providing tantalizing glimpses of a possible new national team starter. Meanwhile, a strong candidate for goal of the season was also scored.
Hang Yuan (1st): 2 – Taichung Sakura (6th): 0
The league leaders were made to earn their dinner against a dogged Sakura side but finally found a way to extend their lead at the top of the standings. Hang Yuan broke the deadlock in the thirty-fifth minute when Miwa Tanaka’s chipped ball over the top sent Chen Yu-chin clear down the left wing and her cross was tapped home by He Jia-shiuan.
Sakura should have had a second-half equalizer but Li Yong-shan sent her point-blank header straight into the arms of Wang Yu-ting. But after that, the game bacame a conversation between Sakura’s keeper, Cheng Ssu-yu, and Hang Yuan’s entire forward line. Having already performed several good saves in the first half, the veteran keeper then made another excellent stop with her legs to deny Liu Yu-chiao.
But Hang Yuan would not be denied and the game was finally killed off in the final minute of the game when Liu’s cross deflected off a couple of Sakura players and was then pushed into her own goal by an off-balance Cheng.
Hualien FC (4th): 1 – AC Taipei (5th): 0
Hualien got a huge win at home in blustery conditions that now moves themselves into the upper half of the table.
The game’s key moment arrived just before halftime when a left-sided cross from Chen Yen-ping was eventually brought under control by Yang Hsiao-chuan, who in turn laid into the path of Li Chun-mei on the edge of the box. With AC Taipei defenders arriving in droves, there was little time for the Hualien player to think but her first-time shot skidded across the turf and past the outstretched fingers of Chen Chiao-Lun.
The home side should have doubled their lead in the second half when Li opened up the Taipei backline with an inch-perfect through ball for Chen. But having set up the first goal, the forward couldn’t get herself on the scoresheet and instead fired her shot high over the bar.
Taipei Bravo (8th): 0 – Kaohsiung Attackers (3rd): 4
A relentless Kaohsiung piled up the goals against the league’s bottom side, meaning the Attackers continue to keep themselves in title contention.
Kaohsiung opened the scoring in the 25th minute when new signing Marin Hamamoto’s header crashed off the bar but was tapped in by Daiana Alaniz. Despite the noise created by their raucous fans, the Attackers strugged to extend their lead due to the heroics of Taipei’s very promising keeper, Shao Zi-han— who was recently called up by the national team for the AFC Finals training camp.
But in the 85th minute, Shao was finally beaten again thanks to a fantastic goal. With Taipei sitting deep, the Attackers patiently moved the ball across the field until it got to Chen Jin-wen, who dribbled past one defender before curling home a shot from just inside the penalty box
Within seconds of the restart, an exhausted Taipei side turned the ball over and the Attackers got their third when Liang Kai-jou headed in Wu Kai-ching‘s cross. The belated rout was completed after Hamamoto finished off a ruthless counter-attack in the final minute of the game.
Valkyrie FC (7th): 1 – Taichung Blue Whale (2nd): 4
Taichung scored early and never looked back during their neutral field game in Hualien. Maho Tanaka’s thudding half-volley goal set the tone with five minutes played and then Thailand national team player Saowalak Pengngam doubled the lead when she smashed a header in from a corner kick.
Fifteen minutes after halftime, Taichung made it three-nil via a contender for goal of the season from Lin Jing-xuan. With the Valkyrie players backing off, the Blue Whale midfielder brought the ball down the field before uncorking a swerving shot from twenty-five yards out that crashed off the crossbar as it made its way into the top corner.
Tanaka then added a fourth for Blue Whale when her team’s high press forced a Valkyrie player into making a misplaced clearance, allowing Tanaka to rifle in a shot from eighteen yards out. Valkyrie got a consolation goal when Zheng Yun-qi pounced on a defensive error by keeper Wu Fang-yu but by then it was too little, too late.
Game Footage
Taipei Bravo vs. Kaoshiung Attackers
Valkyrie FC vc. Taichung Blue Whale
Photo Credit: Hualien FC Instagram
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