TSG (Taiwan Steel Group) Tainan won the Taiwan Football Premier League (TFPL) title for a fifth straight season on Sunday, while the Kaohsiung Attackers a week earlier emerged as champions for the first time in the women’s league.
In the final round of the TFPL, TSG rested most of their important players for the home match at Yonghua Stadium in Tainan. They had 46 points prior to the game and were already guaranteed to finish in first place.
Their opponent, Hang Yuan FC, were led by midfielder Chen Po-ying, who scored two goals, first with a curving shot just inside the 18-yard box, then with a header in the second half. TSG pulled one back on a late goal by Brazilian forward Antonio Gamaroni to end the match 2-1 for the visitors.
Photo: Screen grab from TSG Tainan’s Facebook page
Hang Yuan FC finished in third place with 39 points.
Taichung Futuro won 2-1 against Taipower. A fierce shot by Cheng Hao broke the deadlock.
Futuro finished in second place with 43 points. They had a good run and led the title race most of the season, only to falter in the last two months. TSG overtook them in the final weeks.
Photo: Screen grab from Kaohsiung Attackers’ Facebook page
The result has consolidated the “TSG dynasty.”
However, supporters of other clubs complained about what they called an unfair advantage, as the team is supported by the conglomerate TSG.
“It is very good that TSG invests in Taiwanese soccer, as it has brought in resources and higher wages for star players,” said Cheng Shien-meng, a soccer pundit and game analyst for Sportcast Taiwan TV network.
“However, most fans wish to see TSG make long-term plans to manage the club, systematically develop players and coaches, improve its home stadium and training facilities, and start a youth academy to cultivate young talent,” he said.
“TSG should spend more resources on publicity and promoting the club and the league to attract more interest from fans and increase media coverage,” he added.
“The success of TSG with its five-year dynasty can encourage other domestic conglomerates to invest in soccer and become a good model for involvement,” he said. “Other clubs can also benefit from the financial backing and the know-how, which would raise the league’s competitiveness. More clubs can turn professional, and this would improve Taiwanese soccer.”
Meanwhile, in the final round of the domestic women’s league, the Kaohsiung Attackers on Nov. 23 won the title race.
The Kaohsiung Attackers visited the New Taipei Hang Yuan in a close-fought contest, in which the first half ended goalless, despite several good chances for both sides.
In the 68th minute, Kaohsiung midfielder Wu Kai-ching intercepted a pass, started a counterattack, and sent a pass to forward Lu Meng-fang on the right side, who fired into the net from about 20 yards. Kaohsiung won the game 1-0.
Kaohsiung became the champions for the first time, breaking the dominance of the Taichung Blue Whale and Hualien City over the past few years.
Previously named Kaohsiung SunnyBank, the club this year came under new management and funding support from Power Wind Health Industry Co.
Japanese manager Takeshi Inoguchi was appointed this year to head a new staff team.
Last year’s defending champions, the Taichung Blue Whale, had to settle for second place at 30 points, and the New Taipei Hang Yuan finished one point behind in third.
Major League Baseball (MLB) star Shohei Ohtani wants his former interpreter to hand over hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of baseball cards he says were fraudulently bought using his money. The Los Angeles Dodgers star is also requesting Ippei Mizuhara, who previously pleaded guilty to bank and tax fraud for stealing nearly US$17 million from the unsuspecting athlete, return signed collectible baseball cards depicting Ohtani that were in Mizuhara’s “unauthorized and wrongful possession,” court documents filed on Tuesday said. The legal filing alleges Mizuhara accessed Ohtani’s bank account beginning in about November 2021, changing his security protocols so that he
US skier Mikaela Shiffrin said she sustained an abrasion on her left hip and that something “stabbed” her when she crashed during her second run of an Audi FIS Ski World Cup giant slalom race on Saturday, doing a flip and sliding into the protective fencing. Shiffrin stayed down on the edge of the course for quite some time as the ski patrol attended to her. She was taken off the hill on a sled and waved to the cheering crowd before going to a clinic for evaluation. “Not really too much cause for concern at this point, I just
CLASH OF MANAGERS: Brighton’s Fabian Hurzeler and Russell Martin of Southampton accused each other of disrespect, while both were booked Southampton on Friday were denied a priceless victory by a controversial decision as they drew with hosts Brighton & Hove Albion 1-1 in the Premier League. Kaoru Mitoma spectacularly headed Brighton into a first-half lead and Flynn Downes hammered home an equalizer an hour in. Minutes later teammate Cameron Archer converted a cross from Saints substitute Ryan Fraser. A video assistant referee check of more than four minutes eventually decided that Archer was onside, but then penalized Adam Armstrong, who was offside, but did not touch the ball, for interfering with goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen. “I find it hard to accept,” Southampton manager Russell Martin
Mary McGee, a female racing pioneer and subject profiled in an Oscar-contending documentary, Motorcycle Mary, has died, her family said. She was 87. “McGee’s unparalleled achievements in off-road racing and motorcycle racing have inspired generations of athletes that followed in her footsteps,” her family said in a statement. The family said McGee died of complications from a stroke at her home in Gardnerville, Nevada, on Wednesday, the day before the release of the short documentary Motorcycle Mary, on ESPN’s YouTube channel. Seven-time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton was an executive producer on the film, which became available globally on Thursday. Its premiere