Taipower on Sunday charged to their third straight win and took over first place in the Taiwan Football Premier League as previous leaders Taichung Futuro suffered their first defeat of the season, while Hang Yuan rallied from two goals down to complete a thrilling 3-2 victory over National Taiwan University of Sport (NTUS).
Heading into the 10th round of matches, unbeaten Taichung Futuro led the league with 21 points, but they fell to their first defeat of the season, a 1-0 loss to Tatung at the National Stadium in Kaohsiung.
In a match in which both defenses were on top and there were few solid chances, it required a moment of magic to break the stalemate.
Photo courtesy of the CTFA
It came in the 28th minute when Tatung’s Turkey-born Taiwan international Onur Dogan hit a long pass to fellow striker Ange Samuel. The Ivorian escaped his marker and raced into the penalty area before slotting past the goalkeeper to claim his league-leading 10th goal of the season.
Futuro searched in vain for an equalizer, but could not create an opening against a disciplined Tatung defense as their unbeaten streak came to an end.
Defending champions Tatung have been inconsistent so far this season and they are languishing in midtable, the victory moving them up to fourth place on 16 points, while Futuro fell to second place as Taipower seized their opportunity with a 3-0 victory over Ming Chuan University.
Taipower midfielder Huang Kai-chun hit a superb free-kick into the top corner just before halftime, before Chiu I-huan and Chen Chao-an wrapped up the victory in the second half at the university campus in Taoyuan.
Sunday’s best match saw Hang Yuan fall two goals behind to NTUS early in the second half in Taichung, before the visitors netted three times to complete a thrilling comeback.
NTUS went ahead early through forward Chen Po-yu and Kao Wei-chieh made it 2-0 in the 55th minute.
Hang Yuan’s Brazilian striker Luan Anderson scored from close range in the 62nd minute, before Haitian defender Judelin Aveska equalized with a header from a free-kick after 82 minutes.
Attacking midfielder Wu Yen-shu chested the ball down during a goalmouth scramble before blasting into the net three minutes from time to complete the come-from-behind victory for third-placed Hang Yuan, who have 18 points.
In Sunday’s other match, Taiwan Steel captain Wu Chun-ching scored the only goal of the game in the 89th minute to give his side a 1-0 victory over the Red Lions in Taichung.
The Tainan-based Steelers are in fifth place on 15 points, while the Red Lions remain rooted to the bottom of the table.
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