The ball rolls at his feet, breaks with the ball, shoots, the ball is punched out; then he takes the ball again, takes the ball, shoots, the ball is punched out again...
On the night of May 15, 100,000 points of hard work and determination were manifested in Malele as he repeated the script again and again. For the 27,000-odd Shenhua fans who stood firm in the stadium, apart from cheering with all their might, they could only endure the agony of endless waiting, or rather, they waited in agony for a result that even they themselves were not sure of. Because, before Jiang Shenglong sent the ball into the Qingdao Sea Cowboys' goal, they had been in a stalemate with their opponents for a full 88 minutes.
Shenhua has 1,499 goals in their team history, and the next one, that will be the 1,500th, an unforgettable goal, as if with some kind of curse. In their last away match against Tianjin Jinmen Tigers, they shook hands with a 0-0 scoreline despite their dominance. In the home match against Qingdao Hainiu, they were unable to break the deadlock against a seemingly not so strong opponent. Even Malelai, who is known as the "Bull", won the applause of the fans even though his anxiety caused the medication box of the team doctor of the Sea Bulls to be carried off the field.
However, fate seemed to favor Jiang Shenglong, who had a better performance in this Shenhua-Hainiu match. After he skillfully blocked the opponent's shot in the penalty area, he was given the chance to face an open goal. Jiang didn't let the chance go by, and he finished with his left foot, which is not his specialty, to win the crucial victory for Shenhua and carve his name on the 1,500th goal in Shenhua's history.
In the 11 games prior to the match against Sea Bulls, Jiang Shenglong had accumulated 989 minutes of playing time, just one minute less than full-time goalkeeper Bao Yaxiong. His position in Shenhua's defense system is self-evident. At the same time, as Shenhua's "sharp edge", Jiang Shenglong, who has obvious advantages in height and header, is also a key part of the team's set-piece tactics. In last season's home game against Henan, Jiang was pushed into the center forward position and helped Shenhua equalize the score with a header, and his goals and passes have become classics.
Although already prepared for the "manatee is not easy to deal with" psychological preparation, but this Shenhua and manatee competition is obviously more difficult than most people expected. Faced with Shenhua's tidal wave of attack, Manatee in the solid defense at the same time, the use of the individual ability of the midfield foreign aid in the counterattacks constantly threaten Shenhua's goal - the 14th minute of the first half, Jiang Shenglong was close to scoring a goal. Luckily, the manatee behind him blocked his shot.
Despite the mistakes, Jiang Shenglong's mentality was not affected. Just as he managed to block an opponent's shot on an empty net in the 29th minute of the second half. "There are always mistakes in defense, but we will make up for it. As a defender, I won't let the opponent score easily."
In addition to completing his defensive duties, Jiang Shenglong was praised by the fans for knocking in the winning goal for Shenhua late in the second half. "Right in that position, I kicked the ball in." Jiang Shenglong said the goal was not only due to his teammates who attracted the Manatee defense, but also to the team's unity and determination to defeat the opponent: "Even in the last minute, we won't give up, we'll hold on until the last minute, because it's our home field and we won't let the other team take a minute away easily." That means we have to win by three goals. : I hope everyone will work hard in the future and strive towards the goal.
