Special correspondent reports, in the third round of group matches, Zhejiang beat Meizhou Hakka, with two wins and one draw to lead Group A, while Meizhou Hakka's illusion of three consecutive victories shattered. Chengdu Rongcheng and Kunshan drew, and Nantong won against North Sports University, Chengdu and Nantong both accumulated 7 points, occupying the first two seats in Group B. In Group C, Wuhan Sanzhen and Guizhou team previously maintained two consecutive wins, but after this round of encounters, Wuhan Sanzhen accidentally lost, and Guizhou team became the only three consecutive victories in this season's Central League team.
On the evening of the 6th, the much-anticipated third round of the China League of Nations (CLC) was staged at the Hankou Culture and Sports Center, with Wuhan Three Towns facing Guizhou. Despite having the advantage of home field, Sanzhen failed to continue their winning streak and lost to Guizhou 0-1. It was a cold shower for Sanzhen, which is aiming to reach the super league, and the team needs to adjust quickly for the long season ahead.
In the new season, Wuhan Sanzhen introduced 19 powerful new recruits and was regarded as the favorite to reach the Super League. In the first two rounds of the league, Sanzhen's performance was in line with expectations, defeating BeiTechnology 3-1 in the first match and beating Heilongjiang Bingcheng 4-0 in the second match. After the matches, Sanzhen gradually got into the right track, and the new recruits have been integrated into the team, with core players such as Rong Hao, Edmilson, and Luo Senwen performing eye-catching performance in both offense and defense.
As for Guizhou, the veteran team got the same six points in the first two rounds with two 1-0 victories, especially in the last round, they saved a 1-0 win by saving a penalty kick in extra time, which boosted their morale. However, the team received a ticket from the Football Association for violating the anti-epidemic regulations, and the goal-scorer, Ilhamujiang, missed the key match with Sanzhen as a result.
In the starting lineup, Sanzhen was adjusted due to injuries, starting center back Ren Hang was not involved in the battle with Guizhou, foreign center back Jadason made his first start, and the other three in the defense were Yang Gao, Yin Yagi, and Zhou Heng. Geng Xiaofeng defended the goal. Rong Hao, Luo Senwen, Zhang Xiaobin, Duan Yunzi and U23 youngster Xu Haoyang form the midfield, with Edmilson as the single arrow.
However, this seemingly solid defense line suffered a shock in the second minute of the game, when Guizhou's counter-attack in front of the field was successful, and 20-year-old youngster Ma Canjie scored a goal to take a 1-0 lead over Sanzhen. Afterwards, Guizhou gradually contracted their defense, while Sanzhen began to take the initiative on the field, searching for opportunities through ball control, but Edmilson's shots all missed the goal.
After the change of sides, Sanzhen replaced Luo Senwen with Sang Yifei, and Guizhou also changed three players in a row, including foreign aid Mihajlovic. In the 47th minute, Edmilson kicked a free kick, Rong Hao hit the post with a header, and the supplementary shot was parried out, Sanzhen missed the best chance to break the goal. Later, Sanzhen made personnel adjustments again, replacing strikers Ogbu and Deng Zhuoxiang successively. However, facing the iron barrel formation of Guizhou, Sanzhen could not create too good chances in both positional play and set-pieces. In the end, Sanzhen lost 0-1 to Guizhou and suffered their first loss of the season.
Compared to Sanzhen's opponents in the first two matches, Guizhou was obviously more sophisticated. After scoring a goal, they quickly adjusted their tactics and contracted their defense, stopping Sanzhen's attack through tight defense and pressing, for which they paid the price of 6 yellow cards. In all three rounds of matches, Guizhou won by the same score of 1-0, which is considered the most efficient team in the Central League.
In another Group C match on the same day, Suzhou Dongwu beat Liaoning Shenyang City 1-0. During the match, Liaoning had scored a goal, but it was ruled offside and the goal was disallowed, a controversial call. With these three points, Suzhou Dongwu reached six points, equaling Wuhan Sanzhen. The situation in this group has become even more tense.
The loss was very valuable for Sanzhen, and the team will need more tactical arrangements to make a breakthrough against an experienced Guizhou team.
In the post-match press conference, Wuhan Sanzhen Head Coach Alberto said, "The game started with a course of development that we did not expect, and the opponent scored a goal in the first two minutes, which had an impact on the game. After the opponent's goal, Tri-Town tried to equalize the score in various ways or to make something out of the game, but unfortunately no goal was scored. The opponents are an experienced team and did a great job on defense. It's important to learn from this game because even if you play well, there is a chance you won't score and that's what will happen on the pitch."
At halftime, Rosenman went to the bench wrapped in an ice pack. Regarding his injury, Alberto said, "Rosenman may have some hard injuries from the collision at that time, the injury should not be a big problem. Halftime to make adjustments to replace him, mainly from the tactical level of consideration, the need for change in the second half, the need for individual players in the position of support and change, it is not dissatisfaction with the players, just tactical substitution."
