The Philippines yesterday opened an international soccer tournament at the Taipei Municipal Stadium with a 3-1 win against Laos, while Taiwan held a practice session in the morning after their scheduled opponents East Timor had their travel plans disrupted by a volcanic eruption in Indonesia.
Phil Younghusband, Angel Guirado and Kintaro Miyagi scored to put the Philippines three goals ahead, before Sengvilay Chanthasili got a late consolation for Laos.
Taiwanese soccer officials had to reschedule the program for the competition after receiving the news that East Timor would not arrive in time for Thursday’s pre-tournament news conference.
“The travel arrangements for East Timor have been delayed due to closure of airports after the eruption of Mount Agung in Bali. The team will arrive a few days late, as they transferred flights at an airport in Indonesia,” the Chinese Taipei Football Association (CTFA) said in a statement.
The new schedule for the CTFA International Cup sees Laos take on East Timor at 4pm tomorrow at the Taipei Municipal Stadium, before Taiwan host the Philippines at 7pm.
Taiwan’s match against East Timor is now to take place at 7pm on Monday.
The tournament is to finish on Tuesday when the Philippines take on East Timor at 4pm, before the hosts face Laos at 7pm.
The latest addition to the Taiwan squad is Swedish-Taiwanese teenager Karl Josefsson, who has attracted much fan attention alongside English-Taiwanese player Will Donkin, who plays for English Premier League side Crystal Palace, as both youngsters are expected to see plenty of action in the coming days.
At the pre-tournament news conference, Taiwan manager Gary White said the tournament would give him an opportunity to assess the new players to see whether they could perform in international matches against good opponents.
White admitted that there are still some shortcomings with his squad, saying he would focus on improving the defense as well as the attack.
While all the matches have been scheduled for the Taipei Municipal Stadium, some commentators have suggested that some matches are moved to the artificial pitch at Fu Jen Catholic University, as wet weather could cause problems with the grass pitch at the stadium and it might not cope with hosting matches on three consecutive days.
The pressure was already on Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso before their 2-1 defeat to Manchester City on Wednesday in the UEFA Champions League raised further questions about his future. Arsenal remain perfect in this season’s competition and three points clear at the top of the standings after a 3-0 win against Club Brugge, while defending champions Paris Saint-Germain were held 0-0 at Athletic Bilbao. The clash between Madrid and City was the standout game of the round amid reports this week that Alonso had lost control of the locker room. Speculation over his position is likely to intensify after the latest
By the time Cameron Menzies finally left the arena on Monday, the blood gushing from the gash on his right hand had trickled down his wrist, part of his forearm and — somehow — up to his face. Smeared in crimson and regret, and already mouthing sheepish apologies to the crowd, he disappeared down the steps, pursued by a stern-looking Matt Porter, the chief executive of Professional Darts Corp (PDC). The physical scars from Menzies’ encounter with the Alexandra Palace drinks table after his 3-2 defeat against Charlie Manby at the Darts World Championship would be gone within a few weeks.
‘HIGH STANDARD’: The Thunder are on track for a Finals-Cup double after they scored 22 three-pointers in equaling the best 25-game start to a season in NBA history The Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday bagged a 16th straight victory, thrashing the Phoenix Suns 138-89 to romp into an NBA Cup semi-final clash with the San Antonio Spurs, who stunned the Los Angeles Lakers 132-119. NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 28 points to lead the reigning NBA champions Thunder, who improved to 24-1 to equal the best 25-game start to a season in league history. They dominated from start to finish to book their place in the final four of the in-season tournament in Las Vegas, where they are tomorrow to take on the Spurs. The New York Knicks and
Manchester United on Monday blew the lead three times to miss out on moving up to fifth in the Premier League as AFC Bournemouth would not be beaten in a thrilling 4-4 draw at Old Trafford. United have lost just once in their past 10 games, but Ruben Amorim would be frustrated as more points at home were frittered away despite arguably the best attacking display of his reign in charge. Amad Diallo and Casemiro gave the hosts a halftime lead either side of Antoine Semenyo’s equalizer. Two Bournemouth goals from Evanilson and Marcus Tavernier in seven minutes at the start of the
RSS