Until the K League will get into action in the forthcoming weekend, the only active league in East Asia is the Taiwan Premier League.
On Sunday, the fourth matchday took place and exactly like last week - the present seems to smile for Taichung FUTURO.
Taiwan Steel hosted unbeaten and current league leaders, Taichung FUTURO, in matchday 4.
Steel needed three points in their pocket to continue the battle for the first place. FUTURO, on the other hand, was hoping to extend their great start for the season so far.
The best way to describe the first 45 minutes would be ‘aggressive’, as a few dangerous tackles were flying around where players were going down, and one or two heated arguments took place. Steel had slightly more possessions, but the game remained closed as both teams held their chances—a classic 50-50 game.
FUTURO found the back of the net first in the 57th minute via South Korean Joo Ik-Seong. A pass from Hung Tzu-Kuei deflected off defender Chen Wei-Chuan, but Joo had no problem collecting the ball, and although he was offside, he avoided the call thanks to the deflection. In a one-on-one encounter with the Steel goalie, Pan Wen-Chieh, it wasn’t too hard for Joo to score. It was Joo’s first goal of the season and his debut goal for FUTURO.
Taiwan Steel desperately sought for the equalizer. Experienced goalkeeper Jun Kochi has made a few mistakes, but Taiwan Steel couldn’t take advantage of them. Joo Ik-Seong’s only goal was the difference between the teams and gave FUTURO a hard-fought 1-0 victory, which kept its unbeaten run and its place in the league’s top three.
Other Notable Results:
TFPL - Taiwan Football Premier League
Hang Yuen 1-0 Ming Chuan
Tatung 5-1 NTUS
Red Lions 1-6 Taipower
TMFL - Taiwan Mulan Women’s Football League
Hang Yuen 1-3 Taichung Blue Whale
Kaohsiung Sunny Bank 0-2 Taipei Bravo
Hualien 2-1 Inter Taoyuan
