HK ties Chinese Taipei, DPR Korea crushes Mongolia
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Huang Wei-Yi scored a fast-breaking goal for Chinese Taipei against Hong Kong on Tuesday, giving his team a 1-1 draw and a top spot in the Group A of the East Asian Football Championship preliminary competition. After a scoreless first half, Chinese Taipei scored after just four minutes in the second half as midfielder Huang beat Hong Kong goalkeeper Fan Chung-Yip. Hong Kong fought back six minutes later, Lo Chi-Kwan scored the equalizer for Hong Kong in the 56th minute. Chinese Taipei had a good chance to restore their lead in the 65th minute as Cheung Kin-Fung of Hong Kong received his second yellow card to leave the field and the Chinese Taipei team rewarded a penalty, but Chen Po-Liang's shot was blocked by Fan. "This is our second match in the tournament, and players were a little bit tired playing under the hot weather," said Toshiaki Imai, head coach of Chinese Taipei team. "Hong Kong is a strong team, so we focused on the defense and it is a pity that we wasted a penalty." The Chinese Taipei team trounced Guam 10-0 on Sunday and now had four points in hands, while Hong Kong, who played their first match in the tournament, had one point. If Hong Kong wants to top the group and enter the final, they have to score more than 10 goals in the match against Guam. Also on Tuesday, Democratic People's Republic of Korea thrashed Mongolia 7-0. Just 20 minutes into the game, Long Tae-Se made a penalty to gift DPR Korea 1-0 lead. DPR Korea performed more aggressively after their first goal while Long finished his hat-trick in the 32nd minute with a powerful shot. Leading 6-0 into the second half, Long helped the DPR Korea team enjoy a 7-0 lead with another goal in the 55th minute. Mongolia tried to gear up to narrow the gap, but could not create a chance to make a goal. DPR Korea's victory ensured them an upper hand place in the Group B. If DPR Korea ties with or wins their next opponent Macao, China, they will advance into the final. There are six teams participating in the tournament, including Chinese Taipei, Guam, Mongolia, DPR Korea, Hong Kong and Macao. The winner of the tournament will qualified for the East Asian Football Championship in 2008. The final of the tournament will be held on Sunday. |
