On April 17, Tianjin Jinmen Tigers flew to Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province to prepare for the 7th round of the Chinese Super League away against Zhejiang on April 19. Due to a cracked toe bone, Kompagno was unable to travel with the team.
Since joining the team, Vincent Kompagno has scored five goals in five starts and one substitute in the first six rounds of the season.
The efficiency of the 'Italian Cannon' attack was evident in the efficiency of his attack with 10 shots on target, one in every 1.4 shots on goal and one goal in every 2 shots on target.
In order to maximize Kompagno's advantage as a central striker, the Tianjin Jinmen Tigers put a lot of effort into breaking through and crossing on the wings, and from the second to the sixth round, the number of crosses of the whole team continued to rise.
However, with Kompagno out due to injury, this time Tianjin Jinmen Tigers away to challenge Zhejiang team, it is also time to come up with Plan B.
With Vincent Kompagno out injured and Liu Junxian competing in the U23 Asian Cup, it's no secret that there is only one Indian centre-forward left in the Jinmen Tigers.
Compared to Kompagno, Xiao Xie's advantage is that he is more flexible in his positioning. However, once the opponent is intensively deployed, after the Jinmen Tiger falls into the positional battle, the competition is more about confrontation and other offensive capabilities.
For the Jinmen Tigers, a good news is that the two big players in the backfield of the Zhejiang team, Frank and Lucas, have not been in good physical condition recently.
Centre-back Lucas went off injured in the fifth round against Chengdu Rongcheng, while midfielder Frank came off the bench in that game. In the sixth round, neither of them made the tournament squad.
In addition, striker Patrice Evra underwent surgery before the start of the season and has not yet adjusted to his best condition, and Qian Jieqi also missed the last round of the away game against Qingdao Manatee due to injury.
At present, there are only two foreign aides available to the Zhejiang team - Leonardo and Owusu, which have greatly weakened the team's strength.
If the Zhejiang team can only send a combination of domestic defenders, the success rate of Xie Weijun's confrontation with it will undoubtedly be improved accordingly.
Moreover, unlike the Meizhou Hakka team's full-line retreat, the Zhejiang team itself is more active, and the current unfavorable situation of three consecutive defeats also forces them to take the initiative at home.
In the first six rounds of this season, the Zhejiang team was sent off early in the first round against Shenzhen Xinpeng City, resulting in falling behind in possession, and was also suppressed by the opponent in the second round against Shanghai Port, but in the last four rounds, the Zhejiang team is the leading side in possession.
If Zhejiang wants to recover the decline at home, they will inevitably go all out, which may also leave more space for the Jinmen Tigers at the back.
Moreover, there are many good attackers in the Tianjin Jinmen Tigers. In the first six rounds, Ademi's 18 shots on goal were higher than Kompagno's, while Fioririch (11), Barton (8) and Wang Qiuming (7) also attacked the opponent's goal on several occasions.
Shi Yan scored a long-awaited goal against Qingdao West Coast in the fifth round, and he has recently regained his self-confidence, and his playing time has steadily improved, and he has also accumulated five shots on goal so far.
Although these players do not have the same characteristics as Kompagno and they cannot completely replace the role of the 'Italian cannon', each has their own way of attacking and has been involved in scoring at least once this season.
In the last round of the home game against Meizhou Hakka, when Kompagno sat on the bench and stood by, the attack group of Tianjin Jinmen Tigers was also trying to redistribute the offensive responsibility, such as in the opening stage of the first half, using Xie Weijun's mobility to play a period of high pressing, and the effect was good.
In addition, Wang Qiuming also rushed into the opponent's penalty area more often, directly threatening the goal, which is also a return to last season's style of play.
Overall, whether it is a positional battle or a counterattack, the overall offensive arrangement of the Tianjin Jinmen Tigers is rule-based.
Of course, in order to translate the tactical set-up into a goal, the players also need to form a more threatening cross-cutting combination in a small area, and play a local numerical advantage. Of course, this "chemical reaction" actually takes a certain amount of time to build.
With his efficient attack, Kompagno brought a "honeymoon period" of 5 rounds and 5 goals to the Jinmen Tigers. And in the month or so that he was injured, the Tianjin Jinmen Tigers' offense also faced a period of reorganization and testing.
And in the middle of a long season, from the perspective of player development, this testing period is not an opportunity?