Tainan TSG (Taiwan Steel Group) on Sunday clinched the Taiwan Football Premier League (TFPL) championship title, beating Taipower FC 1-0, despite a disputed penalty decision, while Tatung FC’s match against Taichung Futuro was marred by the announcement that its corporate sponsor would be ending its partnership with the club.
In the title showdown in Taoyuan, TSG won with a disputed penalty kick that came about 30 minutes into the match.
TSG’s Ivorian forward Ange Samuel took the ball inside the penalty area, with several Taipower players positioned to contain him, including defender and captain Lin Cheng-yi, who slid in front of Samuel to knock the ball toward the touchline. Samuel tripped over Lin’s outstretched leg, collapsing in a heap.
Photo courtesy of CTFA
The official awarded a penalty kick, despite protests from the distraught Taipower players, who insisted the tackle was fair as Lin connected with the ball first and was not aiming to trip Samuel.
TSG striker Marc Fenelus dispatched the spot-kick, but Taipower goalkeeper Chiu Yu-hong moved in the wrong direction, giving TSG the lead.
Taipower tried to find an equalizer, but squandered their chances on goal, as they were repeatedly thwarted by TSG’s defense and goalkeeper Pan Wen-chieh.
Photo courtsey of CTFA
When the whistle blew after nearly 10 minutes of added time, some Taipower players sat on the grass, while others hung their heads.
TSG took the league title with 34 points, three more than Taipower. The win means TSG are eligible to compete in the qualifiers for the AFC Cup.
“It is quite windy today, which made it difficult to control the ball,” TSG manager Lo Chih-tsung said after the match. “In facing such a tough opposition, we are very happy to win this game.”
“It is our aim to play in the AFC Cup. Clubs in Taiwan should have the long-term goal of challenging international competition, which can help Taiwan soccer improve. We look forward to a time when the title-winning team and runners-up both qualify for Asian club tournaments,” Lo said.
In Hsinchu County’s Jhubei City, Tatung played their final match, losing 3-1 to Futuro.
Burkinabe forward Ben Ouedraogo netted an equalizer to cancel out Futuro’s opening goal in the first half, before it was “Shotime” for Japanese star Shohei Yokoyama, who grabbed a brace for the eventual 3-1 victory, which left Futuro with 26 points to finish the season in third place.
The loss came as Tatung’s corporate sponsor ended nearly six decades of partnership with the club, founded in 1963 with the support of electronics giant Tatung Co.
The club had won the league’s top title several times, including with the three-peat champions title from 2017 to 2019.
On its Web site, the club confirmed the end of the sponsorship, with the message: “Goodbye does not mean the end,” suggesting it is looking to reform with new backing.
In New Taipei City, Hang Yuan scored three late goals for a 3-0 victory over CPC FC, while Land Home-NTUS (National Taiwan University of Sport) hosted Flight Skywalkers in Taichung, where the match ended in a 0-0 draw.
Yu Yao-hsing on Tuesday nabbed Taiwan’s only goal in the final round of qualifiers for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, as they fell 3-1 to Sri Lanka at Taipei Municipal Stadium. Early goals from Sri Lanka in the first half left Taiwan struggling to get on the board, and Christopher Tiao’s own goal at 53 minutes sealed the team’s fate in the third round of qualifiers. While acknowledging that the defeat, Taiwan’s sixth in Group D, was disappointing, head coach Matt Ross said he saw reasons to stay positive about the team’s development. “There were lots of positive signs in terms of the
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli yesterday vowed to “keep raising the bar” after winning the Japanese Grand Prix to become the youngest driver in Formula One history to lead the championship standings. The 19-year-old Italian took advantage of a mid-race safety car to jump into the lead after a dreadful start from pole position, crossing the line ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Antonelli’s Suzuka victory came two weeks after the first grand prix win of his career in China, and sent him top of the championship standings after three races, nine points ahead of team-mate George Russell. Mercedes are struggling to
INDIGESTION: Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup for a third consecutive time after a 4-1 defeat to Bosnia on penalties in a loss Gattuso said was ‘difficult to digest’ Coach Graham Arnold on Tuesday challenged his players to “shock the world” after Iraq became the 48th and final team to qualify for the FIFA World Cup with a nerve-shredding 2-1 win over Bolivia in an intercontinental playoff in Mexico, as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, the Czech Republic, Sweden and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) also secured their places at the finals. Iraq, whose preparations were disrupted by the war in the Middle East, sealed their first appearance at the finals in 40 years and are to play in Group I against France, Senegal and Norway. Goals from Ali al-Hamadi
Teng Kai-wei, the only Taiwanese player on an opening-day roster in this year’s Major League Baseball (MLB) season, took his first win of the year with the Houston Astros in his season debut. Teng entered in relief in the top of the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday, with the Astros trailing 5-0. He pitched 2-1/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts, as Houston scored 11 runs during his outing to snatch an 11-9 comeback victory. The win is the Astros’ first of the season and the third of Teng’s MLB career. “It’s my first time pitching for the Astros, so
RSS