Hang Yuan on Sunday beat AC Taipei 3-1 to leap from fourth to second place, putting them within one point of Taipei Football Premier League leaders Taipower and Taichung Futuro, whose 1-0 victory over Ming Chuan University left them tied atop the standings.
Hang Yuan started the scoring early, with Wu Yen-shu and Chou Yu-chieh setting up Japanese forward Shunya Ando with a header in the first five minutes.
About 15 minutes later, Ando set up South Korean striker Joo Ik-seong to power past Japanese goalkeeper Kenshin Katata to double their lead.
Photo courtesy of CTFA
Another Hang Yuan header past Katata put them ahead 3-0 just before half-time, and a late goal in the second half by forward Huang Sheng-chieh put AC on the board.
“It was outstanding to hit for three goals in the first half, and deny the opposition’s counterattack. They have young players and can make quick runs into our zone, so we had to neutralize their offense, then adjust to bolster our defensive line in the second half,” Huang Yuan manager Hong Ching-huai said after the game.
Also on Sunday, defending champions Tainan-TSG held Taipei-based Leopard Cat 2-2 in Tainan.
Tainan striker Marc Fenelus from the Turks and Caicos Islands, a former Golden Boot winner in Taiwan, grabbed the opener at seven minutes, after thumping his own rebound in with a header past Leopard Cat goalkeeper Derek Shih.
Five minutes before half-time, Leopard Cat’s Burkina Faso playmaker Ben Ouedraogo split Tainan’s defense on a precision centering pass, for Honduran forward Elias Argueta to fire home the equalizer.
Quickly into the second half, Fenelus scored off a penalty-kick after being pushed, but their lead was short-lived as Guatemalan forward Geraldo Rabre found Ouedraogo inside the box, for his teammate to again tie the game.
Neither side was able to break the tie, forcing Tainan to settle for their second consecutive draw and fall to fourth in the standings.
In Taoyuan, Taichung Futuro earned three points with their 1-0 victory over hosts Ming Chuan University.
For much of the game, Ming Chuan University frustrated Futuro until late in the game, when Futuro was awarded a penalty-kick.
Haitian striker Benchy Estama duly converted the spot-kick, for the only goal of the match, leaving Ming Chuan University winless with zero points for the season.
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