At the crack of dawn on May 23, 2023, the clock struck zero at Beijing time, and the first round of the CFA U-21 League kicked off at the Barracuda Bay Professional Soccer Stadium, the brand-new home of the Dalian People, against the powerful Beijing Guoan. From the beginning to the end of the match, Dalian People showed overwhelming superiority.
With the drums of war beating, both sides went back and forth, launching intense offense and defense. Dalian people team gradually took the initiative in the rhythm of the game, launched wave after wave of offense to the opponent. Just in the 43rd minute, Yan Shoukuan skillfully turned around, a precise shot, 10 minutes later, Dalian people team with a goal lead, half-time war.
Then, in the 56th minute, Mr. Yan Ze Yuan made a successful break in the penalty area, but he was knocked to the ground by the opponent, and the referee decided to award a penalty kick! The referee decided to award a penalty kick to Mr. Yan Ze Yuan, who scored the goal himself, making the score 2:0!
By the 63rd minute, Beijing Guoan made a mistake at the back, Chen Yongze got the ball and skillfully got rid of the opponent's defender and goalkeeper, and sent the ball into the empty goal, 3:0!
Although Beijing Guoan pulled a goal back in the 70th minute, in the end, the Dalianites won the match with a score of 3:1.
After the match, all the coaches and players of Dalian U-21, led by the coaching staff, took the initiative to clean up the locker room and left a warm note on the door, "Thanks to Dalian Barracuda Bay Soccer Stadium, Dalian People will win! The cozy note was left on the door.
This season's CFA U-21 League, which officially opened on April 22, is divided into four phases of knockout matches (April 22 to May 4) as well as finals, which will be held from May 26 to June 10, Aug. 12 to Aug. 24, Sept. 17 to Oct. 2 and Oct. 25 to Nov. 8, respectively. The knockout rounds will be held in Dalian and Nanjing, with a total of 40 matches divided into five rounds. The Dalianers are in Group C along with Beijing Guoan, Shanghai Port, Tianjin Jinmen Tigers and Wuhan Sanzhen.
On April 28th at 15:00, the Dalian People will meet the challenge of Tianjin Jinmen Tigers at the Dalian Football Youth Training Base Stadium.
After the match, Dalianren U-21 Head Coach Guo Hui reminded everyone to stay calm in between the players' victory celebrations. Coach Guo Hui said, "Today's win is an important milestone for us. This is the first official match after the completion of the Barracuda Bay Professional Soccer Stadium, and our victory lays a good foundation for future matches for the first team and all levels of the ladder. However, today's win doesn't mean everything and we still need to keep our heads up in the upcoming matches to ensure we get out of the group."
