On August 5, in the 20th round of the Chinese Super League (CSL), Shenzhen team defended valiantly for 75 minutes on the road before finally conceding a goal and losing 0-1 to Cangzhou Lions.
Given that Dalian Ren won in the relegation zone and Nantong Zhiyun drew in this round, Shamrocks are already three points adrift of their two rivals at the end of the table, making the relegation situation even more urgent.
Shamrocks' starting lineup for this round
In the summer transfer of the Chinese Super League, the strength of the team was greatly reduced when the four main players of the Shenzhen football team, Jiang Zhipeng, Yuan Mincheng, Zhang Yuan and Mi Haolun, had their contracts with the team terminated by arbitration. To make matters worse, top scorer Achim Pang, who scored five goals and two assists this season, was fined a four-match suspension and 40,000 yuan for slapping Gu Cao in the first World War with Henan. Because the Ghanaian shot-stopper received a red card in the match, it means Shenzhen will be without their leading scorer for the fifth consecutive round.
After being loaned out to Belgium's Auburn last summer, Cangzhou were stretched thin, with the only good news being starting back-up wide man Vakaso. While Vaccaro tested Cangzhou's keeper Shao Pu-liang with a superbly weighted long-range shot in the 10th minute of the opening half, he lacked Archie Mbeng, the most potent burst in the defensive counterattack. Shenzhen spent more time building a fence around the back line in this battle. Led by captain center back Zhang Yuan, the team rallied together, with Vaccaro connecting the midfield and the backfield in the central midfield position to make the team's overall defense more organized.
Cangzhou's starting roster featured three foreigners; Locadia, Oscar and Owusu. In the second half, head coach Zhao Junzhe replaced foreigner Školjic and kept pounding the defense with four foreigners. After 75 minutes of persistence, Shenzhen defended well in the sports game and eventually revealed their flaws on set pieces. On the right side of the front, Cangzhou got a free kick, and defender Wang Peng's header sealed the deal.
Despite the setback of 10 rounds without a win, Zhang Yuan, the captain of Shamrocks, was satisfied with the performance of the whole team. He thought the whole team played very well and put in a great effort, only maybe lacking some luck a little bit. Zhang Yuan played the whole match, his 7 successful tackles were the highest in the match, and he also made 5 clearances, which was a very good performance.
