Taiwan yesterday made it two wins in two days by defeating East Timor 3-1 in the CTFA17 International Tournament at the Taipei Municipal Stadium.
In a match that turned increasingly bad-tempered and ended with both squads squaring up to each other following the final whistle, it was the hosts who took the lead in the 20th minute when Hung Tzu-kuei beat his marker on the left side of the penalty area.
Hung’s cross found Li Mao, the scorer of a brace in Taiwan’s victory over the Philippines on Sunday, but this time his shot was saved, the rebound falling to Wen Chih-hao, who converted the simplest of tap-ins.
Photo: Lin Cheng-kung, Taipei Times
The visitors failed to produce a shot on target until the 58th minute when Su De-cai’s attempted back-pass was short and Rufino Gama intercepted, before chipping the ball over stranded goalkeeper Pan Wen-chieh.
However, it only took the hosts five minutes to reclaim the lead when Chen Ting-yang headed in Wen’s corner at the back post.
Skipper Chen Po-liang wrapped up the victory in the 77th minute, just a minute after he had failed to score when one-on-one with the East Timor goalkeeper.
The resultant corner found Will Donkin on the right side of the penalty area and his cross once again left Chen Po-liang one-on-one in front of goal, and this time he made no mistake with a sharp finish into the roof of the net.
The victory means Taiwan top the standings with six points and they would win the tournament by claiming at least a draw in their final match against Laos at the Taipei Municipal Stadium at 7pm today.
The earlier match at 4pm sees East Timor take on the Philippines.
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