In the 17th round of the Chinese Super League this evening, leaders Wuhan Sanzhen met bottom-ranked Cangzhou Lions. Despite the fact that Sanzhen was able to tie the game, Cangzhou Lions' Jose Kanter scored four goals late in the game to help Cangzhou Lions collect their first win of the season.
Wuhan Sanzhen, the newest team in the Chinese Super League, has risen to prominence this season with their dark horse status. They have brought in a number of strong players during the transfer window, including the kingpins Stancho and Davidson, as well as a number of international players such as Liu Dianzheng, Gao Junyi, Deng Hanwen, He Chao and Xie Pengfei. Together with veterans Malcolm and Edmilson, Three Town's lineup is a luxury.
With a strong attacking force, Wuhan Three Town thrashed Hebei 4-0 in the first round of the tournament, followed by a 6-0 sweep of Guangzhou in the second round. It wasn't until the third round that they were forced to draw by Shenhua. However, from the fourth round onwards, Sanzhen started a winning streak until August 28th when they beat Shenzhen 5-1 at home, making them 12 consecutive victories, just one step away from breaking the Chinese Super League winning streak record held by Shandong Taishan and Guangzhou.
However, injuries are starting to plague Three Town. Central midfielder Stancho has missed four league games on national team duty, while Malcom, Edmilson and Wallace are also out with injuries. Edmilson is expected to miss two weeks with an ankle injury and Malcom will take longer to recover from a muscle strain.
Tonight, facing the bottom four Cangzhou Lions, Sanzhen only had one foreign aid Davidson in the game, and the team's offensive firepower obviously declined. Cangzhou Lions dominated the game with a hat-trick from Jose Kanter. Although Sanzhen once equalized the score, Kanter scored consecutively, Davidson's penalty kick opened the scoring, and Zhang Xiaobin's powerful shot in the 84th minute allowed the team to equalize after trailing by two goals.
However, Jose Cante scored again in injury time to give Cangzhou Lions a 4-3 win over Sanzhen, who suffered their first defeat of the season. If Shandong Taishan beat Shenzhen in the later match, Sanzhen's lead will be narrowed from seven to four points. Currently, Sanzhen is facing injury problems, and if they fail to make timely adjustments, their lead may be further reduced.
