On September 16th, Beijing time, Shandong Taishan welcomed Wuhan at their home base and a warm-up match was played here. Delgado and Ji Xiang scored respectively, and Taishan turned back Wuhan with a score of 2-1, successfully taking the victory in this warm-up match. In this game, foreign aid Moises made his season debut as a substitute.
With a three-month long break in the Chinese Super League, Taishan shifted their focus to the F.A.C.A. Cup tournament in October and November. Jin Jingdao, Wu Xinghan, Liu Binbin, Xu Xin, Guo Tianyu and Wang Dalei have been selected for the national soccer team, and they are undergoing training in West Asia and will not be able to take part in the AFC Cup, which poses a new challenge for Taishan to adjust their lineup. Returning foreigner Moises will join the ensemble and is expected to make his debut in the AFC Cup. Fellaini and Sun Junhao have also arrived in China and returned to training after completing their isolation, and will likewise be able to participate in the AFC Cup.
In order to adapt to the new lineup, Taishan team actively arranged warm-up matches, following the 16th against Wuhan, and then on the 19th will face the Tianjin team. Wuhan's manager Li Xiaopeng was once a decorated player of Taishan and coached the team for nearly three years. This season, Li Xiaopeng led the Wuhan team in the first phase of the Chinese Super League achieved 1 win, 8 draws and 6 losses, failed to enter the championship group, can only participate in the relegation group of the competition. This season, Taishan and Wuhan team in the league failed to meet, can only be through the warm-up matches, the previous two warm-up matches, Taishan team 1 win and 1 draw.
In the third matchup of the warm-up, Taishan's lineup remained unchanged, with Wuhan only having goalkeeper Dong Chunyu and Artemisia Junmin selected for the national football team and unable to participate in the warm-up. In this match, Taishan arranged young players to start, goalkeeper Li Guanxi, defenders Song Bowei, Liu Junshuai, Zhao Jianfei and Moustapha partner on the field, of which Moustapha is a 2003-born player, the summer transfer period to supplement the first team. Hao Haiyi, Jia Special, Chen Zhechao, Tian Xin, Duan Liu Yu and Delgado started in the midfield, Jia Special and Song Bowei were both born in 2001, and Delgado was the only foreigner to start.
In the first half of the game, in the 13th minute, Taishan team quickly counterattacked after breaking the ball in front of the field, Tian Xin assisted Delgado to break the goal, Taishan team 1-0 lead. In the second half, Taishan replaced more experienced players with foreigners Moises and Jadson on the pitch, with Moises returning to the team to make his debut in the season's warm-up matches. As a key player in Taishan's midfield, Moises' return was crucial. In the second half of the match, Huang Zichang equalized in the 50th minute. In the 65th minute, Ji Xiang scored with a long-distance shot, and finally Taishan won the warm-up match with a 2-1 victory over Wuhan.
According to the arrangement, on September 19, Taishan team will also have a warm-up match with Tianjin Jinmen Tiger, Hao Wei will further investigate the players and grind the lineup for the AFC Cup. It is reported that the FA Cup Organizing Committee examined Jinan, Dalian, Changchun and Meizhou district, Taishan team is expected to play in the home of the FA Cup. The AFC Cup is expected to start in mid-October, and the top 32 matches to advance to the round of 16 are divided into four zones. If Taishan can play the AFC Cup at home, this is undoubtedly good news for the fans. Taishan has always attached great importance to the Cup, and last year Hao Wei led the team to win the F.A.C.A. Cup. This year, despite the incomplete lineup, the whole team will not give up and try to play more matches to get a good result.
