East Asia is the region that is arguably the most affected by COVID-19.
Chinese Super League was the very first in the world to delay the start of the season. J League and K League have been affected as well and haven't kicked off their season yet.
This is why it was a surprise when Taiwan decided to start the league as scheduled.
In fact, Taiwan is being praised as being one of the best countries controlling the situation effectively, with only 388 confirmed cases and six deaths. The locals are satisfied with how the government controls and prevents the spread of the virus. To keep the community safe and healthy, CTFA decided to run the league behind closed doors.
Before the men's league, the women's equivalent, known as Taiwan Mulan Football League, has started the day earlier. Taichung Blue Whale grabbed a comfortable 5-1 win over Kaohsiung Sunny Bank in the opening match. In the following games, Hang Yuan and Inter Taoyuan shared a point after 1-1 draw, while Hualian managed to grab a late 2-2 draw against Taipei Bravo.
All four opening matches of TFPL were scheduled to kick off at the same time, but what drew the most interest was the match between Tatung and Taipower. Tatung was crowned for three consecutive seasons, while Taipower only managed to finish behind their rivals for last three years. The fact that Tatung lost some of their key players but Taipower obtained most of their squad from last season made this match-up more entertaining.
It was a very close first half, but Tatung had more chances than the opponent. The primary real threat to Taipower took place on the 30th minute as the forward of Tatung Chen Jui-Chieh faced one-on-one with the opposing goalie, but Chiu Yu-hung denied it.
Tatung, however, managed to find the back of the net right before the first half ends. Chang Hao-Wei put pressure on Lin Yueh-Han, Taipower's right back, and earned a penalty as Lin interrupted him. Ange Samuel comfortably converted it to a goal.
Taipower prepared well for the second half and leveled the match in the 64th minute. Kao Chun-hung's corner from the left flank hit the crossbar, and Lin Cheng-Yi managed to head the deflected ball to Chen Chao-an, who then freely put it back to the net. Eleven minutes later, Taipower grabbed the lead with Lee Hsiang-Wei's right-footed shot from the edge of the penalty box.
Nanbaitan's lead didn't last long as Tatung's substitutes showed off their skills. Ben Ouedraogo, the Burkinabe winger who came in for Ange Samuel, dribbled past two Taipower defenders on the right flank and found Pai Shao-yu, another substitute. The Taiwan u23 international then finished it with his right foot and levelled the game again.
Both teams had several chances, but it was Lee Hsiang-Wei again who concluded this thrilling game. Right before the referee called the game off, Lee received the cross from Lai Chih-Hsuan at the penalty mark and put the ball into the right corner. It was the moment that the 23-year-old completed the brace and gave his team a hard-earned victory.
3-2 victory to Taipower was the result in the final whistle.
In other games today:
Hang Yuan dominated Taipei Red Lions and grabbed a comfortable 4-0 win. Two college teams in the league failed to earn three points as NTUS were beaten by Taichung Futuro 1-2 and Ming Chuan lost to Taiwan Steel by 2-4.