Facing the heavy pressure of the Zhejiang team, even though the opponents were three times in the game to lead by a two-goal advantage, but in the second half launched a comeback, chasing three goals, and finally 5:4 against Meizhou Hakka, won the key battle known as the "Battle of the Heavenly King Mountain".
In the last round of Central League, Zhejiang unexpectedly lost to Sichuan Jiuniu by 0:1, creating a shocking cold in this season's Central League. The team never expected that the first defeat of the season would come from Sichuan Jiuniu. In the two games with Sichuan Jiuniu this season, Zhejiang only got 1 point, which also made the team in the points gap with Meizhou Hakka to expand to 4 points. However, Zhejiang fell behind by 2:4 in the first half, and the players entered the halftime lounge with heavy pressure.
During the halftime break, Zhejiang head coach Qiao Di analyzed the defensive characteristics of Meizhou Hakka in the first half and conveyed his confidence to the players, saying that the team would surely be able to turn the situation around in the second half. Wu Shao Koon, deputy general manager of Zhejiang Work Football Club, also said that the team can never give up this time as they were able to draw after two goals down against the Chinese Super League team in the play-offs last season.
After adjustments, Zhejiang scored three goals in the second half to make a stunning comeback. "Meizhou Hakka played quite fluently in the first half, and they adopted the strategy of attacking against us right from the start. The first goal conceded was really my mistake and we fell into the tactics set by the other team before the match." Zhejiang goalkeeper Gu Chao was one of the most frustrated players in the game, as Zhejiang conceded a total of only three goals in the first seven rounds of the league, while this time they conceded four goals in the half.
Gu Chao said, "But all this did not affect us, after losing to Sichuan Jiuniu in the last round of the league, the whole team is summarizing the experience, the key game must keep the mentality, put down the burden, even in the first half we conceded four goals, no one gave up the game. I think the spirit of not giving up in this game is the key to the success of the final reversal, which is also the performance of the classic battle of Zhejiang."
In the second half, Gu did not concede another goal. He recalled: "Because I have experienced all kinds of situations, both in good times and bad times, I can quickly adjust myself. It was really unexpected that I conceded so many goals in the first half today, but I never panicked. I calmed myself down quickly during the halftime break and told my teammates that they should never panic at this moment. In fact, at halftime, I felt that our morale was still very high, there was a kind of toughness to survive, and we didn't give in to the situation of falling behind, we just had to win back, and eventually we did!"
The victory was a crucial three points on the way to the Super League for Zhejiang, who also achieved a double over Meizhou Hakka this season. After the game, the whole team formed a circle on the sidelines and cheered for their perseverance. Jordy, who has always kept his cool, also showed his passionate side this time, hugging Wu Shao Kwan and then captain Cheng Jin, enjoying the joy brought by this exciting reversal. (Xu Yi)
