On the night of September 20th, Dalian fans witnessed a thrilling match in the 16th round of the Chinese Super League bye round, with Dalian People's team narrowly winning against Hebei at home by a 2-1 margin. With the drums beating, Dalian People's head coach Xie Hui and Hebei's head coach Jin Jongfu stepped into the press conference room together.
Xie Hui said in his review of the game: "Tonight, we have three new recruits to play for the first time, and another four players for the second time, which undoubtedly increases the difficulty of integration between the team, our play is a little rusty, and despite the eventual win, there are still many parts of the game are not satisfactory. Facing Hebei's tight defense was like an early season challenge for our new lineup. Fortunately, Bosanjic and Manzocchi showed notable strength, and I believe our teething pains won't last long."
Talking about when the foreign aiders will be at their best, Xie Hui responded, "I think the first two foreign aiders have been quickly integrated, they both scored and assisted in the last game, and the same is true today. As for the two foreign aiders who just joined, I am equally satisfied with their performance."
"Today's game was more difficult compared to the follow-up game because we had different expectations. Our team performs better in intense confrontations, while today we needed to slow down the tempo against a deep opponent's defense, which was tougher for our players. It will take time for the newcomers to gel, but I see positives in their performance. Going forward, we have room for improvement in terms of possession, ball movement and dominating the game."
Summarizing Hebei's performance, Kim Jong-oh said, "At the moment, the injury situation of our main players is more serious, so we fielded many young players. Even though they lacked in other areas, they made up for their deficiencies through tireless efforts and presented us with a great game."
