Taipower yesterday recorded their third straight win to start the Taiwan Football Premier League season, consolidating their grip on first in Taiwan’s top division soccer, while Hang Yuen and Taiwan Steel also notched victories in the third round.
The weekend’s four matched saw visiting Taipower shut out Min Chuan University 2-0 at the university’s Taoyuan campus, while Hang Yuen, at home at Fu Jen Catholic University in New Taipei City’s Sinjhuang District won by the same score against NTUPES.
Hang Yuen had 22-year-old Brazilian striker Luan Anderson to thank after he netted a brace with a goal on either side of halftime.
Anderson, who studies at Nanhua University in Chiayi County, told reporters after the game: “I had been on the starting line-up for all three games, and the games have players with higher skill levels compared with university league games.”
“It was great to score two goals today,” he said. “I was just doing my job.”
“We have other students at Nanhua University and they all want to stay in Taiwan to continue playing football here,” he said.
“Hang Yuen FC was my [first] choice, because the team’s style is well-suited for me. So I hope to contribute more in the coming games for our team to win,” he said.
Taiwan Steel hosted the Taipei Red Lions at Tainan’s Yonghua Stadium, where they prevailed 3-2.
Defending champions Tatung battled to 2-2 draw against Taichung Futuro in Hsinchu County’s Jhubei City.
Top division soccer commenced this month, with the women’s Mulan League starting on April 11 and the men the next day.
The games have garnered international attention, as the major leagues in Eurpoe and elsewhere are shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The men’s league, which is sponsored by Hua Nan Bank, is among only five top soccer competitions that are in action worldwide, alongside Belarus, Nicaragua Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.
The Chinese Taipei Football Association (CTFA), the governing body for soccer in Taiwan, is livestreaming games via CTFA.TV and YouTube, with one game per week having English commentary.
This coming weekend, Tainan are to play Taichung, Tatung face NTUPES, the Red Lions take on Taipower and Hang Yuen are to play Ming Chuan University.
In the Mulan League, three teams are tied at the top of the table with a win and a draw after two rounds.
In the second round on Saturday, the Taipei Bears were surprise 1-0 winners over defending champions the Taichung Blue Whale, while Hualien beat New Taipei Air Source 2-1 and Taoyuan International overcame Kaohsiung Yangxin 1-0, with all of the matches played at the Taiyuan Stadium in Taichung.
Hualien, the Bears and Taoyuan each have four points, while Taichung have three, New Taipei have one and Kaohsiung have no points.
Manchester United on Tuesday confirmed Michael Carrick as interim manager until the end of the season, tasking him with leading the Red Devils back into the UEFA Champions League. “Having the responsibility to lead Manchester United is an honor,” said Carrick, 44, who won 12 major trophies in his 12-year playing career at United. The former midfielder previously had an unbeaten three-game stint as caretaker boss at Old Trafford in 2021. Carrick then took on his first permanent managerial role at second-tier Middlesbrough in October 2022 and was sacked in June last year after the club finished 10th in the
Mohamed Salah’s Egypt knocked reigning champions Ivory Coast out of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) with a 3-2 win in the quarter-finals on Saturday, while Victor Osimhen starred as Nigeria beat Algeria 2-0 to set up a clash with hosts Morocco. In Agadir, Morocco, a thrilling last-eight tie saw Omar Marmoush and Ramy Rabia net in the first half for the Pharaohs before an own goal by Ahmed Aboul-Fetouh brought the Ivorians back into it. Salah then got Egypt’s third early in the second half and they held on after Guela Doue again reduced the deficit. Egypt is to face Senegal
Reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on Sunday sparked defending champions Oklahoma City to victory, while Anthony Edwards led Minnesota’s last-minute fightback to beat San Antonio. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 29 points while adding eight assists and five rebounds in the Thunder’s 124-112 home victory over Miami, improving the NBA’s best record to 33-7 after outscoring the Heat 70-53 in the second half. “We locked in defensively. We were finally able to get some stops,” Thunder guard Aaron Wiggins said. “We were able to get out in transition a little bit, get going offensively and find the flow.” Jalen Williams scored 18 points, while
The US’ Mikaela Shiffrin speeds down the course during an alpine ski women’s World Cup slalom in Flachau, Austria, on Tuesday. She won the slalom for the sixth time this season.