Taichung Futuro on Sunday dominated Taipei-based Leopard Cat 3-0, as the Taiwan Football Premier League (TFPL) resumed amid sweltering weekend temperatures.
Futuro’s win at Taichung’s Taiyuan Field put them at 13 points, tied at second with Tainan TSG and among four teams within three points of Taipower at first place.
Just before halftime, Futuro’s Haitian striker Benchy Estama fought off two defenders to feed the ball to Japanese teammate Kesuke Ogawa, who volleyed it into the net.
Photo courtesy of the Taiwan Football Premier League
Although Leopard Cat came close to putting a point on the board, Futuro goalkeeper Pan Wen-chieh denied them at every chance.
Leopard Cat were set further back nearly 90 minutes in, after Futuro were awarded a penalty when Turkish-born forward Onur Dogan fell trying to round Leopard Cat goalkeeper Derek Shih. Estama dispatched the spot-kick, hitting the top corner to double their lead.
Into added time, second-half substitute Japanese forward Shohei Yokoyama headed the ball inside the box for Estama to tap it past Shih for the final goal.
Photo courtesy of the Taiwan Football Premier League
“This victory is a good start for our title chase into the second half of the season,” Futuro captain Chen Ting-yang said.
“Some on our team had COVID-19 earlier this year, but they have recovered, so we are training and going into matches at nearly full strength. We have the momentum now, and hope to grab more wins before the end of the season, and have a good chance at the title this year,” he said.
Temperatures over the weekend reached 37°C, which Leopard Cat head coach Chiang Mu-tsai said took a toll on the team.
“It was hot playing here in Taichung... Some players had previously had COVID-19, and a few are older. So when we got into the second half, it was clear that they were exhausted and struggling to keep up.”
“We have had these problems before during the summer, especially when playing in the afternoon. Now we also have to deal with the aftereffects of COVID-19, so the players had a more difficult time during the game,” he added.
In Sunday’s other afternoon matchup, Taipower beat AC Taipei 1-0 in Taoyuan.
About 19 minutes into the first half, Taipower midfielder Lin Chang-lun hit a long pass to forward Lin Chien-hsun, who was left unguarded in front of the net. Lin quickly capitalized and scored the game’s only goal.
The hot weather led to several scuffles among the players, with coaches forced to break them up before things escalated, but not before seven yellow cards were issued.
In the evening match, Hang Yuan dominated Ming Chuan University 4-1 at the school’s Taoyuan campus.
Hang Yuan’s Yang Chia-pao thumped in a header early from a corner in the eighth minute, and four minutes later, midfielder Huang Yu-wei capitalized on an errant pass to blast a shot just inside the post.
The hosts responded with their only goal just before the half-hour mark, with Ming Chuan striker Yu Yao-hsing timing a jump perfectly on a high cross.
After the break, Hang Yuan’s Japanese midfielder Shunya Ando beat three defenders on a pass up the middle to fire in a goal and extend their lead by two.
Hang Yuan’s South Korean striker Joo Ik-seong took control in the 76th minute at the halfway line to make a solo run, rounding past two defenders to slot it past goalkeeper Lee Yung-sheng for a 4-1 victory.
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