On September 16th in Beijing, Shandong Taishan welcomed Wuhan at their training base for a warm-up match. In this match, Delgado and Ji Xiang broke the goal respectively, and Taishan defeated Wuhan with the score of 2-1, and successfully harvested the victory in the warm-up match. It's worth mentioning that foreign aid Moises made his season debut in this game as a substitute.
Due to the three-month long break in this Chinese Super League, Taishan will face the challenge of the AFC Cup in October and November, which has become the focus of their recent preparations. Players such as Jin Jingdao, Wu Xinghan, Liu Binbin, Xu Xin, Guo Tianyu and Wang Dalei, who have been selected for the national soccer team, are undergoing training in West Asia and therefore will not be able to participate in the AFC Cup. Under such circumstances, Taishan's lineup will face new adjustments. The returning Moises will have a chance to make his debut in the AFC Cup, while Fellaini and Sun Junho will soon end their quarantine and return to training, making the lineup for the AFC Cup richer as a result.
In order to better integrate the new lineup, Taishan team actively seek opportunities for warm-up matches, and finally decided to play Wuhan and Tianjin on the 16th and 19th respectively. Wuhan's head coach Li Xiaopeng was once a decorated player of Taishan and also coached in Taishan for nearly three years. This season, Li Xiaopeng led Wuhan 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 showdown. As Taishan and Wuhan failed to meet in the Chinese Super League this season, the two teams can only compete in warm-up matches, and the previous two warm-up matches, Taishan achieved a win and a draw. In the third match of the warm-up, Taishan's lineup was still unorganized. Wuhan team only goalkeeper Dong Chunyu and Artemisia Junmin were selected for the national soccer team and could not participate in the warm-up match. In this game, Taishan arranged the young players to debut, goalkeeper Li Guanxi, back line Song Bowei, Liu Junshuai, Zhao Jianfei and Mustapa partner, of which Mustapa is a 2003-born player, the summer transfer period to fill in the first team. Hao Haiyi, Jia Special, Chen Zhechao, Tian Xin, Duan Liuyu and Delgado made their debuts in the midfield, of which Jia Special and Song Bowei are 2001-born players, and Delgado is the only foreigner to make his debut. In the first half of the game, in the 13th minute, Taishan team in front of the field grabbed a break after a rapid counterattack, Tian Xin assisted Delgado goal, Taishan team 1-0 lead. In the second half of the game, Taishan team replaced more experienced players, foreign aid Moises and Jadson came on the field, Moises returned to the team to complete the season warm-up debut. As a key player in Taishan's midfield, Moises' return was crucial. In the second half of the match, Huang Zichang equalized the score in the 50th minute. In the 65th minute, Ji Xiang's long-distance shot broke through the goal, and finally Taishan won the warm-up match against Wuhan by 2-1, successfully harvesting the victory. According to the arrangement, on September 19, Taishan team will also have a warm-up match with Tianjin Jinmen Tiger, and Hao Wei will further observe the players to sharpen the lineup for the AFC Cup. It is reported that the organizing committee of the AFC Cup has examined the Jinan, Dalian, Changchun and Meizhou tournaments, and Taishan is expected to play at home in the AFC Cup tournament. The AFC Cup is expected to start in mid-October, with the 32-16 matches divided into four zones. If Taishan can play at home in the AFC Cup, it will be 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, although the lineup is not complete, but the whole team still will not give up, and try to play more matches to get a good result.
