Reporter Chen Yong reported that on the evening of April 24, Beijing time, in the fourth round of the group stage of the AFC Champions League Group F, Shandong Taishan once again faced the Singaporean team Lion City Sailors. In this game, the Taishan boys failed to continue the performance of the opponent in the previous round of 0-0 draw and continued to get points, but under the unfavorable situation of 0-2 behind and a significant decline in physical fitness, they opened the goal account of the Super League team in this AFC Champions League.
After taking one point, he scored one goal and scored more than one: captain Lu Yongtao and Liu Guobao, who scored their first goal and their first sports goal respectively. Although the Lion City Mariners also scored another goal and eventually won 3-2, the lads' performance won universal recognition.
Yu Yuanwei, the coach of the Taishan U21 elite team who led the team out this time, said after the game, "I believe that the players have gradually realized the meaning of bravery and courage. ”
In the last round of group matches, Shandong Taishan drew 0-0 with the Lion City Sailors and won the first point of the Chinese Super League team in this AFC Champions League. In that game, in addition to the clean sheet of the opponent, the Taishan team did not have a single shot in the first 70 minutes or so - from another point of view, the final draw of the last game also had the factor of the opponent's poor performance. And when the opponent adjusts his mentality and has a certain understanding of the Young Generals of Taishan, as Yu Yuanwei said, Taishan is facing "a more patient and powerful opponent.".
It was a back-to-back match and the fourth AFC Champions League match in 10 days for Shandong Taishan. The boys have physical problems, which are mainly reflected in the frontcourt players, BaiheLam obviously has physical problems in the last game, and in this game, the offensive players such as Baihelamu and Yixianlong have a significant decline in speed, frequency, technical completion and other aspects.
It must be pointed out that although it is the Taishan elite echelon that participates in the AFC Champions League this time, this is actually not the strongest lineup of the Taishan elite echelon: including Fang Hao, who performed well in the U23 national team, Xie Wenneng, who went to Qingdao Manatee on loan, Shi Yan, who transferred to Jinmenhu, and Mai Wulang, who suffered injuries, and He Xiaoke, who stayed in Yangyang.
In addition, Liu Guobao also suffered a strain before the expedition, and he came off the bench in the last round but did not dare to run. In terms of defense, there are also players such as Jia Feifan and Song Bowei who are not out of the game. And the Taishan team did not use pre-00 players, all are post-00 players, and the average age of this game is only 19.5 years old.
In the first half, the Tarzan team tightened the fence for most of the time, but there was a defensive error in the final stage, and the Lion City Mariners broke the deadlock with a header from Song Yirong in the first half stoppage time. After a hard half, but giving up in the final moments, this is undoubtedly a huge blow to the Tarzan players.
The Lions Mariners once again took advantage of corner kick opportunities to extend the lead with a header from foreign centre-back Pedro Henrique. There is only half an hour left in the game, and the physical fitness of the frontcourt players is difficult to guarantee, at this time, for the pre-game expectation of "taking a point, scoring a goal", many people may no longer have extravagant expectations, more hope that the team can maintain a good formation, avoid collapse, and reduce the loss of the ball as much as possible.
But the Tarzan players did not wait, just as it was difficult for the outside world to imagine that they could get their first points before the last game, this time, they achieved a breakthrough again.
The first to stand up was Captain Lu Yongtao. In the 75th minute of the game, Lu Yongtao, who was originally a midfielder, stepped into the penalty area and faced the Lion City Mariners captain Harlan in the bottom line position, and cleverly completed a crotch pass, who was forced to reach out to block, and The Tarzan team won the penalty.
Subsequently, the main penalty of this penalty was also handed over to Lu Yongtao himself. Lu Yongtao was originally a striker, and in the 2021 season, he scored 7 goals in Qingdao Qingchun Island to help Qingdao Qingchun Island successfully break through the first division. Faced with this moment that may have made history, the Tarzan captain calmly coped with the extreme physical exertion, constantly adjusted his breathing, and finally easily took the penalty and scored Tarzan's first goal in this year's AFC Champions League. And this is also the first goal scored by a Chinese Super League team in this year's AFC Champions League.
One goal was enough to surprise, and although the Lions Sailors then used a counter-attack to have another foreign player, Lesiena, the Tarzan guys finally handed over the answer sheet to complete the goal. But the surprise did not stop there, in the 90th minute, substitute Liu Fanyi took the ball on the right and handed the ball to Liu Guobao, who turned around and faced the defender, he shook the defender with a fake action of breaking to the right, and then shot with his left foot. Turns, fake moves, burst shots in one go, a perfect goal – the Tarzan team also scored the first sports goal of this AFC Champions League.
Even if it is small and big, even if the opponent has 4 foreign aides, the Taishan young players have not given up the pursuit of attack, and these two wonderful goals have also made Taishan fans extremely excited. If the young men's defense showed their tenacious fighting spirit, the two goals showed not only the spirit of not giving up, but also proved their potential and future prospects.
Yu Yuanwei, coach of Taishan U21 Elite after the game, said: "Today we are facing a more patient and stronger opponent, but I still have to be happy and satisfied with the 2 goals and 90 minutes of fighting spirit that our team has scored. ”
In this game, Shandong Taishan conceded a goal in the final stage of the first half, and although he lost two points in the second half, he also scored two valuable goals. Talking about how to build the psychology of the players at halftime, Yu Yuanwei said: "It is indeed a pity to concede goals in stoppage time, and it also reflects our lack of game experience. I was in the lounge more of an encouragement to them, telling them to cherish such a chance to play, and I believe they will perform better. The main reason for our performance in the second half was because the players did well. ”
Speaking about the team's two goals in this game and the visible progress since the first round, Yu Yuanwei said: "The players in the initial stage of the AFC Champions League have not experienced this level of play, and they are a little nervous and not confident enough. With the accumulation of games one by one, they also gradually showed their strength and level, and played better and better. I believe that if we can participate more in this high-level competition, the progress of these young people is worth looking forward to. ”
Yu also pointed out: "I have been emphasizing two words with the players, bravery and courage, and they should now gradually appreciate the meaning of these two words, I hope that they can make fewer mistakes in the subsequent games, and the technical and tactical performance can be better." ”