In tonight's 17th round of the Chinese Super League (CSL), leader Wuhan Sanzhen met bottom-ranked Cangzhou Lions. Despite the fact that Sanzhen scored two consecutive goals to equalize the score in an unfavorable situation with fewer players, Cangzhou Lions' star Jose Cante scored a hat-trick at the end of the game to help his team win 3-2 against Wuhan Sanzhen, and the leaders suffered their first loss of the season.
As a rising horse in the Chinese Super League, Wuhan Sanzhen has risen like a dark horse this season. They have brought in a number of powerful foreign players including Stanciu and Davidson, the Chinese Super League (CSL) kingpin and mainstay of the Romanian national team, while local players such as Liu Dianzheng, Gao Junyi, Deng Hanwen, He Chao and Xie Pengfei have also been brought in to play for the team. The core of the team, Malcolm and Edmilson, also remain in the team.
With a strong lineup, Wuhan Three Town beat Hebei 4-0 in the first round, and washed Guangzhou 6-0 in the second round. It was not until the third round that they were forced to draw by Shenhua. But from the fourth round onwards, Three Town started the winning streak, and by August 28th, they had won 12 consecutive matches with a 5-1 victory over Shenzhen at home, just one step away from tying the Chinese Super League winning streak record held by Shandong Taishan and Guangzhou.
However, injuries began to plague Three Town. Stancho missed four league games on national team duty, while Malcolm, Edmilson and Wallace also missed out through injury. Edmilson is expected to miss two weeks and Malcom's recovery time is uncertain. In their last game, Three Town struggled to a 2-1 win over Changchun Yatai, but a seven-point lead is no longer to be underestimated.
Tonight, Tri-Town played at home against Cangzhou Lions with only one foreign player, Davidson, and the team's offensive firepower dropped significantly. Despite once equalizing the score, Jose Cante scored three consecutive goals to give Cangzhou Lions a 3-1 lead. After Davidson's second goal from the penalty spot, Zhang Xiaobin equalized in the 84th minute, but Cangzhou Lions finally completed the shutout in injury time, and Sanzhen suffered its first loss of the season.
If Shandong Taishan beat Shenzhen in the game to be played later, then Sanzhen's lead will drop from 7 points to 4 points. Faced with injuries and illnesses, Sanzhen's lead could be further threatened if they fail to adjust their form in time.
