The Chinese Super League (CSL) is in full swing, with Meizhou Hakka hosting bottom-placed Shenzhen. Compared to Meizhou Hakka, Shenzhen is in dire need of points to get out of the relegation crisis. Recently, the Shenzhen team has released the salary arrears, aiming to boost the team's relegation belief. However, facing Meizhou Hakka, which has a good record on the road, the Shenzhen team, which is playing with a full Chinese squad, faces a lot of difficulties, especially the strength of a few foreigners should not be underestimated. The game process is unexpected, Meizhou Hakka's foreign players Kotelnik as Harry Kane possession, substitutes on the field scored two goals, and finally the Shenzhen team had no choice but to swallow the bitter fruit of five consecutive defeats.
At the beginning of the game, Meizhou Hakka, with the advantage of the home field, continuously launched a fierce attack on the hinterland of Shenzhen. In the 13th minute, Shenzhen made a mistake in the backfield pass, and Rodriguez scored easily with his individual ability to shoot consecutively. After some Hakka offense, Meizhou Hakka finally took the lead.
Just three minutes later, Kosovic took advantage of a set piece to extend the lead again. In the 22nd minute, Shenzhen made another mistake under pressure as Conrad burst into the box and scored from the far corner. Trailing by two goals, Shenzhen was even more passive and eventually ended the half with the visiting Shenzhen team trailing by two goals.
In the first half, Meizhou Hakka had the upper hand in both offense and defense. After taking a two-goal lead, the Hakka team continued to control the pace of the game, making a number of brilliant combinations in front of the penalty area, and Dong Chunyu's saves were also spectacular. Meanwhile, Shenzhen's all Chinese squad had difficulty organizing effective counterattacks and relied only on long counterattacks to create a threat, but the effect was not good. At halftime, the head coach needs to readjust the tactics.
In the second half, Shenzhen team still did not have much improvement in the offensive end, Meizhou Hakka maintained a high possession rate. The front foreigners attacked continuously, and Dujalić missed a good opportunity to lock the game. With the morale of the Shenzhen team in the doldrums, the defense was in disarray, and low-level mistakes were made frequently. If not for Meizhou Hakka's bad luck, the score would have been widened.
After Conrad missed a series of chances, Kotelnik came on as a substitute and scored his first touch on the Shenzhen goal to give Meizhou Hakka a three-goal lead and seal the win. Ye Chugui made another breakthrough in the penalty area and the game was out of doubt. In the 82nd minute, Shenzhen's Shen Zigui took a long-distance shot to save face. Three minutes later, Shi Liang assisted Kotelnik again and Shenzhen was in a desperate situation.
With the win, Meizhou Hakka's relegation task is almost complete. In the remaining league games, the coach and club management need to adopt different strategies for the team. Should they develop more young players or try more tactics? The foreign players are cost-effective and strong, but the connection and tacit understanding of the domestic players need to be strengthened. After all, the team is pursuing higher goals next season.
Shenzhen's loss was reasonable, but we were surprised by their fighting spirit and tactical attitude throughout the game. You should know that before the break, Shenzhen had drawn against Shandong Taishan. If it wasn't for Klassen's excellent play, Shandong Taishan would have suffered from a cold spell. However, facing the slightly inferior Meizhou Hakka, Shenzhen's performance was so fragile that it is worth reflecting. At the last moment, the head coach faced the situation on the field, his face was silent, as if in despair.
As the season ends, Shenzhen's chances are getting fewer and fewer. After losing this game, the team suffered a 7-game losing streak, and their morale was hit hard.
