Review : Taiwan 2021 Mulan Premier League – Rounds 2 & 3

April 17, 2021

Kaohsiung Sunny Bank 0-2 Taichung Blue Whale

Taipei Bravo 0-0 Hang Yuen

Taoyuan International 0-4 Hualien

After the euphoria of winning in the opening week Kaohsiung Sunny Bank were brought back to earth against Taichung Blue Whale. Thai International forward Pitsamai Sornsai opened the scoring in the 16^th minute, calmly picking her spot from close to the penalty spot for her first goal for Taichung after controlling a cross from Michelle Pao. Fang Wei hit the bar from just inside the penalty area but she added a second goal for Taichung just before half-time, forcing home a cross from the left by-line. Both sides had good chances in the second half but the score remained 0-2.

Champions Hualien recorded their first win of the season with a regulation 4-0 win at Taoyuan. Li Ping gave Hualien the lead in the 7^th minute, heading home Wen Lin’s corner from 6 yards, and Wen Lin doubled the lead two minutes later, thumping home a shot from a fairly tight angle cross goal and into the roof of the net. The game was effective over as a contest after 15 minutes, as Wen Lin ran onto a long ball out of defence to add a third goal for Hualien. The game sort of fizzled out after this, although Wen Lin did get her hat-trick 10 minutes into the second half, with another shot into the roof of the net after being put clear

The match between Taipei Bravo and Hang Yuen was an even affair, perhaps shaded by Hang Yuen who hit the bar, and nearly scrambled a winner in added on time

May 1, 2021

Hang Yuen 5-0 Taoyuan International

Taichung Blue Whale 4-0 Taipei Bravo

Kaohsiung Sunny Bank 1-4 Hualien

 

Taoyuan fell to their third consecutive heavy loss without scoring a goal as Hang Yuen won for the first time this season. The home side took the lead in the 5^th minute with a long range strike by Chen Yuan ( No 9 ) after a short free-kick. Yi Wen ( No 8 ) made up for an incredible open goal miss from a yard out with a clever second goal just before half time. After being put clear she spotted Inter’s keeper Zhu Fang Yi off her line and chipped the ball over her and into the unguarded goal.

Yi Wen added a third three minutes into the second half, latching onto a poor back pass and side-footing past the keeper in the 1 on 1 situation. The match was held up for nearly 10 minutes after a nasty looking injury to the Inter keeper after a collision, but after lengthy treatment she was able to continue, before eventually being substituted with 88 minutes on the clock. Hang Yuen added two further goals in the time added on for the injury, Chen Yan Ping ( No 10 ) finishing from close range and Chen Ying Hui ( No 7 ) shooting home from the edge of the area as Taoyuan left gaps at the back.

 

Taichung Blue Whale recorded a surprising convincing win over Taipei Bravo with two goals from Michelle Pao, and one each from Song Sai and Su Yu Yuan. Blue Whale led 1-0 at half-time thanks to Pao’s brave header but they took control in the second half with three more goals. Song Sai turned and fired home from outside the area just after the break , Pao added a third with a typically strong finish after being put clear on the right, and then Pao unselfishly crossed to leave Su Yu Yuan with a simple finish to wrap up the win.

Li Ping opened the scoring for Hualien the lead in the 17th minute, rifling home Wen Lin’s left wing cross from the angle of the six yard area. Wen Lin made it 2-0 in the 34^th minute, after being left free to stab home from 6 yards after a low cross from the right. 

 

Kaohsiung immediately pulled a goal back at the start of the second half, Lee Hsiu Chin ( No 10 ) steering the ball into an empty net from 35 yards after the Hualien keeper had left her area to head clear. However, it took Hualien just three minutes to restore their 2 goal advantage, Wen Lin scoring from the penalty spot after the referee had spotted a handball in the area. Hualien added a fourth goal 8 minutes from time when Lin Xiao Yun ( No 15 ) was played in behind the back-line to shoot into the near-side top corner of the goal. The score line was harsh on Kaohsiung who created a number of good chances, but ultimately Hualien’s finishing was more clinical.