Scoreboard leaders Hualien City and second-ranked Taichung Blue Whale won their Taiwan Mulan Football League matches on Saturday, with five points now separating them, while Hang Yuan FC and Inter Taoyuan finished with a scoreless draw.
In the first match, Hualien City beat Kaohsiung Sunny Bank 3-0 to maintain their winning streak this season.
Striker Tan Wen-lin opened the account in the 38th minute by slotting the ball into an empty net, as there was confusion between Kaohsiung goalkeeper Lee Ya-ting and the defense.
Photo courtesy of the CTFA
In the 70th minute, Lin Hsiao-yun took possession during a scramble inside goal area, and curved a shot inside the far post.
Two minutes later, striker Wu Shih-ping scored on a header, taking her season tally to 16 goals.
Wu is the league’s top scorer, just one goal ahead of Taichung Blue Whale’s Michelle Pao.
Pao took to the field against Taipei Bravo in the second match of the day, but did not score.
After only the first minute of play, Blue Whale defender Lai Wei-ju drilled the ball home from short range, taking her team into the lead.
Midfield dynamo Pao posed a danger in leading the offense, and in the 37th minute she broke through the opposition’s defense, sending a long cross-field pass to the edge of the goal area.
The ball reached striker Lai Li-chin, who doubled Blue Whale’s lead by firing a half-volley into the top corner of the net.
Taipei Bravo got back into the game nine minutes into the second half. Midfielder Lin Hsin-hui surged up from the right flank, delivering a cross, which forward Su Hsin-yun headed into the goal, reducing their deficit to 2-1.
Taipei Bravo missed some chances in search of an equalizer, but Blue Whale were closest to finding the net, especially with Pao directing the attack.
However, Bravo goalkeeper Hsu Yuan-ting made some crucial saves to prevent any more goals from being scored.
“We still have a chance of seizing the title, and our aim is to win all three remaining matches, but I want my players to enjoy their games,” Blue Whale manager Lu Kuei-hua said.
“We know that Hualien City have been outstanding this season ... and it will be difficult to overtake them, but our team will challenge them to the end,” Lu said.
“We had a good start to the game, but after 10 minutes our rhythm was disrupted by the opposition and we kept on losing possession,” Lu said. “Our team settled down and found good chances in the second half ... which enabled us to prevail.”
In the third match, hosts Hang Yuan FC piled on the pressure against Inter Taoyuan, with about 300 boisterous fans showing their support at Fu Jen Catholic University in New Taipei City.
Hang Yuan forwards had their chances in front of goal, but Inter Taoyuan’s centerback Pitsamai Sornsai from Thailand showed solid defense, teaming up well with goalkeeper Chu Fang-yi to hold them to a 0-0 draw.
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