Chinese Taipei Football Association (CTFA) secretary-general Fang Ching-jen yesterday touted the success of the Taiwan Business Bank Taiwan Futsal League after Chiayi Tienching on Sunday displayed their all-conquering form and collected the championship trophy with a 5-2 win over YTFC at the Pingtung County Stadium.
Since January, when the season began, Chiayi Tienching scored a perfect 10 wins off 10 games to collect 30 points.
Taichung Traveler were second, finishing on 22 points with seven wins, two losses and one draw, while CTFA U20 were third on 17 points with five wins, three losses and two draws.
Photo courtesy of CTFA
In the season’s final round on Sunday, Taichung Traveler prevailed 6-4 over CTFA U20, while Fangyi Precision of Kaohsiung pummeled Inter Taoyuan 11-4, with all of the matches in Pingtung County.
Soccer pundits were not surprised at Chiayi Tienching’s success, as the team is based on players from Chiayi County’s Wufeng University, which has a long history of soccer programs and as a powerhouse in central Taiwan.
The team previously competed as Wufeng University, but this year changed their name to Chiayi Tienching, after receiving sponsorship from Tien Ching Energy.
Fang yesterday said the league has been a big success, as it has boosted public interest, cultivated young talent and developed players for international competitions.
“We are looking to expand from six to eight teams next season, but also need to carefully assess the new clubs, as they should improve the league and enhance overall competitiveness,” he said.
“This season we saw Chiayi Tienching win all of their games, but it would be better for the league to have strong sides that are able to compete on par with them... All six teams this year are based in a city or county, which will be the requirement for new clubs,” Fang said.
In Taiwan Football Premier League action on Sunday, Tatung FC’s Honduran midfielder Elias Argueta scored twice during his team’s 3-0 rout of Land Home-NTUS at the Taipei Stadium.
In the 19th minute, Argueta followed up on a rebound, hitting a low drive into the net. Just past the half-hour mark he streaked past the NTUS defenders, picking up a loose ball to coolly score again.
Three minutes after intermission, after good work by attacking midfielders Hsu Fan-shao and Chang Hao-wei, the ball was passed across the field to forward Chen Po-hao, who had replaced Argueta. Chen slotted the ball home at close range to ensure victory for Tatung.
“Elias did well with his two goals today,” Tatung manager Chiang Mu-tsai said.
“We will work hard on the final touch, which we didn’t do so well at the start of the season,” he added.
In other games, CPC FC defender Weng Wei-ping thumped the ball home during a scramble after a corner-kick shortly after the intermission, taking his team to a 1-0 win over Flight Skywalkers in Kaohsiung.
In New Taipei City, Huang Yuan FC fought to draw 1-1 against Taipower.
The pressure was already on Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso before their 2-1 defeat to Manchester City on Wednesday in the UEFA Champions League raised further questions about his future. Arsenal remain perfect in this season’s competition and three points clear at the top of the standings after a 3-0 win against Club Brugge, while defending champions Paris Saint-Germain were held 0-0 at Athletic Bilbao. The clash between Madrid and City was the standout game of the round amid reports this week that Alonso had lost control of the locker room. Speculation over his position is likely to intensify after the latest
‘HIGH STANDARD’: The Thunder are on track for a Finals-Cup double after they scored 22 three-pointers in equaling the best 25-game start to a season in NBA history The Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday bagged a 16th straight victory, thrashing the Phoenix Suns 138-89 to romp into an NBA Cup semi-final clash with the San Antonio Spurs, who stunned the Los Angeles Lakers 132-119. NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 28 points to lead the reigning NBA champions Thunder, who improved to 24-1 to equal the best 25-game start to a season in league history. They dominated from start to finish to book their place in the final four of the in-season tournament in Las Vegas, where they are tomorrow to take on the Spurs. The New York Knicks and
TOP OF THE TABLE: Evann Guessand put the visitors ahead early in the game and Flavius Daniliuc equalized before Youri Tielemans got the winner in the second half Aston Villa on Thursday extended their winning streak to eight games in all competitions with a 2-1 victory against Basel in the UEFA Europa League to secure at least a playoff spot. Villa were tied with Olympique Lyonnais, who beat Go Ahead Eagles 2-1, and Midtjylland, 1-0 winners over Genk, atop the standings of the second-tier European competition on 15 points with five wins from six games. They have bounced back from a poor start to the season and are third in the Premier League, including a 2-1 victory over leaders Arsenal on Saturday. At St Jakob-Park in Basel, summer signing Evann Guessand
Tony Jefferson intercepted a Jalen Hurts pass in overtime to give the Los Angeles Chargers a 22-19 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday in an NFL thriller between playoff contenders. Justin Herbert, playing a week after surgery on his broken left (non-throwing) hand, withstood a career-high seven sacks to throw for 139 yards and a touchdown for the Chargers. Cameron Dicker kicked five field goals, including the 54-yard game winner in overtime. The Chargers defenders forced Hurts to throw four interceptions and surrender a fumble for a career-worst five turnovers as the Eagles fell to 8-5 with a third
RSS