Friday, December 12, 2008:

The Taichung Physical Education College invited Compass to a friendly match at the Taichung Stadium this past Friday to a crowd that included members of the local press corps as well as scouts from Japan's professional J-league (http://www.j-league.or.jp/eng/).

The PE College had its first break at about 25 minutes in when a wide open goal opportunity was thwarted by a sliding tackle by Compass' sweeper. The follow through on the tackle resulted in the PE College striker being carried off the field and a controversial penalty kick being awarded (which they capitalized on). PE College struck again at about the 35 minute mark with a brilliant far post screamer from 20 yards out that hit the net no more than 6 inches from the post at ground level.

The second half remained scoreless until about 30 minutes in when a PE College striker beat two Compass defenders on the wing and then passed back to a teammate from the touch line for the easy slot into the goal.

Compass had a few opportunities, and although never capitalized, dominated play at times in the first half. Compass' defensive game has seen marked improvement from playing the PE College, and it is widely held that future matches could see a different result. Key components to realizing this will be an increased level of fitness and more depth on the bench to match their substitution capability.