Striker Li Mao yesterday fired Taiwan ahead with an early brace and the hosts held on to seal a 2-0 victory over Laos at the Taipei Municipal Stadium.
The victory saw the hosts make it three wins out of three to claim the trophy at the CTFA17 International Tournament.
Li was the key player for Taiwan in the competition, as he also scored two headed goals in the hosts’ opener as they beat the Philippines 3-0 on Sunday.
Photo: Lin Cheng-kung, Taipei Times
Taiwan yesterday set out with attacking intentions and kept up the pressure on the Laos defense throughout the contest, while goalkeeper Pan Wen-chieh kept a clean sheet by making several crucial saves.
In the ninth minute, captain Chen Po-liang intercepted an errant pass and drove toward the Laos penalty area, finding midfielder Yu Chia-yuang.
Yu was tackled as he was about to pull the trigger, but the ball fell to Li, who swept home his third goal of the tournament.
Photo: Lin Cheng-kung, Taipei Times
Three minutes later, midfielder Su De-cai crossed into the penalty area from the right and Li hit a first-time shot to extend Taiwan’s lead.
London-born English-Taiwanese substitute Will Donkin, who plays for the academy of English Premier League side Crystal Palace, also put in an outstanding performance and was a constant threat throughout the second half.
Donkin impressed the fans with his vision and poise as he created numerous chances for his teammates.
In the 70th minute, Donkin nearly scored his first goal for Taiwan when he hit a free-kick from just outside the penalty area eluded Laos goalkeeper Outthilath Nammakhoth, but hit the crossbar.
Striker Li continued his forays forward in search of a hat-trick and he almost got past the defense after a pass by midfielder Wen Chih-hao in the 84th minute, but a Laos defender brought him down and the referee waved play on, judging it to be a clean tackle.
After the game, Taiwan’s players and coaches paraded around the stadium for several minutes in a victory lap to applaud the fans.
In yesterday’s earlier match, East Timor battled hard against the Philippines and were rewarded with a late strike by Garcia da Silva to prevail 1-0.
It was East Timor’s only victory of the tournament, and the players and coaches were delighted with what was considered an upset win.
All three visiting teams finished the tournament with 1-2 record.
Twelve days after winning her second Grand Slam title at the French Open, Coco Gauff fell at the first hurdle on grass in Berlin on Thursday as beaten Paris finalist Aryna Sabalenka advanced to the quarter-finals. Recipient of a first round bye, American Gauff lost 6-3, 6-3 to Chinese qualifier Wang Xinyu as world number one Sabalenka beat Rebeka Masarova 6-2, 7-6 (8/6) in her second round tie. Winner of 10 main tour titles, including the US Open in 2023 and the WTA Finals last year, Gauff has yet to lift a trophy in a grass-court tournament. “After I won the first
While British star Jack Draper spent the past week trying to find rhythm and comfort in his first grass tournament of the season at the Queen’s Club Championships in London, Jiri Lehecka on Saturday bulldozed everything in his path. After more than two furious hours of battle, their form was reflected in the final scoreline as Lehecka toppled a frustrated Draper, the second seed, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 to reach the biggest final of his career, against Carlos Alcaraz. Lehecka is also the first Czech to reach the men’s title match at Queen’s since Ivan Lendl lifted the trophy in 1990. Draper, who
Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka staged a “crazy comeback,” saving four match points before beating Elena Rybakina 7-6 (6), 3-6, 7-6 (6) in the quarter-finals of the Berlin Open on Friday. Sabalenka was 6-2 down in the final-set tie-breaker, but won six straight points to reach her eighth semi-final of the season. “Elena is a great player and we’ve had a lot of tough battles,” Sabalenka said. “I have no idea how I was able to win those last points. I think I just got lucky.” “I remember a long time ago when I was just starting, I won a lot of matches being down
The Canterbury Crusaders edged the Waikato Chiefs 16-12 in an intense Super Rugby Pacific final battle in Christchurch yesterday to claim their 15th title in 30 years of the Southern Hemisphere competition. Hooker Codie Taylor scored a try and Rivez Reihana contributed 11 points from the kicking tee as the most dominant team in Super Rugby history extended their perfect home playoff record to 32 successive matches since 1998. The Chiefs, who were looking for a first title since 2013, scored first-half tries through George Dyer and Shaun Stevenson, but were unable to register a point after the break and fell to
RSS