Taiwan netted two goals in the second half against a scoreless, 10-man Mongolia in Guam yesterday to win their second game of the East Asia Football Federation (EAFF) Championship qualifying tournament.
Taiwan coach Toshiaki Imai started with a 4-5-1 formation as he had in their first game on Thursday, but made five personnel changes, including resting in-form striker Wu Chun-ching in favor of Tseng Chih-wei and replacing goalkeeper Chiu Yu-hung with Pan Wen-chieh.
The five midfielders did not dominate the field and boss the opposition around as they had in their impressive 8-1 victory over the Northern Mariana Islands in the previous match, with the more experienced Mongolia players fighting for every inch of territory and forcing a scoreless stalemate in the first half.
Photo provided by Chinese Taipei Football Association
The second half began with more open play, both sides having good chances in front of goal.
In the 52nd minute, Mongolia forward Bayarjargal Oyunbat was sent clear in front of goal, but goalkeeper Pan made a good save from a close-range shot.
Five minutes later, Taiwan took advantage of a counterattack, with midfielder Lin Chien-hsun collecting a long pass on the left side of box and beating two defenders and shooting into the far corner to put them in front.
In the 71st minute, the referee sent off Mongolia striker Murun Altankhuyag, judging him to have chopped down Taiwan defender Huang Wei-min during a goal-mouth scramble.
Three minutes later, Mongolia nearly scored through Oyunbat, who dribbled past the defense, rounded Pan and shot on target, only to see defender Huang Wei-min make a sliding, goal-line clearance to preserve a clean sheet.
Taiwan grabbed their second goal near the end of the game when midfielder Lin Shih-kai made no mistake on a rebound to drive into the net from right side of the box.
Taiwan face Macau tomorrow in their final game of the qualifying tournament.
In yesterday’s other result, Macau collected their first win by defeating the Northern Mariana Islands 3-1.
In the tournament opener on Thursday, Macau and Mongolia played out a 2-2 draw.
Taiwan will advance to next round of the EAFF if they beat Macau.
Top seeds Alexander Zverev of Germany and American Coco Gauff on Tuesday advanced to the third round of the Canadian Open after both players were pushed hard by their opponents. World No. 3 Zverev, playing in his first match since his first-round loss at Wimbledon, was far from his best, but emerged with a 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 win over Adam Walton under the lights in Toronto. Momentum shifted firmly in Zverev’s favor when he won a 52-shot rally in the first set tiebreak and he sealed the win on a double fault by the Australian in the second set. “It was a very
Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko upset top-seeded Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-4 on Saturday night to reach the National Bank Open quarter-finals. “Your support was incredible,” Mboko told the crowd in French after a chorus of “Ole, Ole, Ole” chants echoed around the venue. “I’m really happy to win today ... It’s incredible. I’m so happy to beat such a great champion.” Gauff dropped to 2-3 since winning the French Open. She followed the major victory with opening losses in Berlin and Wimbledon, then overcame double-fault problems to win two three-set matches in Montreal. Gauff had five double-faults on Saturday after having 23 in
Taiwan’s top women’s badminton doubles duo, Hsieh Pei-shan (謝沛珊) and Hung En-tzu (洪恩慈), achieved a straight-sets victory over Japan’s Kaho Osawa and Mayui Tanabe at the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Super 300 Macau Open on Sunday. The Taiwanese pair won the final 21-18, 21-12, marking the duo’s second title this year after their win at the BWF Super 300 Taipei Open in May. The match on Sunday was their first encounter with the Japanese duo, ranked No. 63 in the world. Hsieh and Hung, ranked No. 12, began the opening game well. Hung, who plays left-handed, performed strongly at both the net and the
Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen on Thursday said that he is staying with the Red Bull team next year, ending months of speculation over his future. “Some people just like to stir the pot, some people just like to create drama, but, for me, it’s always been quite clear, and also for next year,” the four-time champion said ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix. “I’m discussing with the team already the plans — the things that we want to change for next year, so that means that I’m also staying with the team for next year,” he said. Verstappen has a contract with
RSS