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.
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