On the night of November 13th, at 19:30, Beijing Guoan defeated Wuhan Changjiang 3-1 at home. As the drums of war fell, Beijing Guoan's head coach Stanley stepped into the spotlight of the press conference.
"I am immensely proud of the team and the players for their hard work, we showed a very high level of athleticism today." Stanley's words oozed recognition for his team, "Before the game, we expected our opponents to play a tight defense, so we patiently laid out and aggressively looked for breakthroughs. Despite the challenging nature of this game, we were always able to capitalize on counterattacks."
The game ended in a 0-0 draw at half-time, with the Nationals even suffering a goal conceded in the second half. Stanley responded, "Three center backs slipped and fell in the first half, which put us under pressure defensively, and our opponents were able to create occasional threats. Of course, we didn't let that deter us. In the second half they were awarded a penalty, which is a common occurrence in games."
Despite the goal conceded, the team responded quickly to equalize the score and take control of the field again. Stanley exclaimed, "It was very gratifying to see the team adjust so quickly after conceding the goal and attack aggressively. We found the second goal quickly, and the third was a natural progression, as the opponent's over-pressurization gave us a lot of space. In the second half, we were excellent overall and I'm proud of the way the players performed."
