Song Long’s goal helps Shandong Taishan break the deadlock Xinhua News Agency
To many people’s surprise, the 2022 Chinese Football Association Cup Final is not another duel between Shandong Taishan and Shanghai Seaport. In the afternoon of January 11, Shandong Taishan defeated Shanghai Shenhua 2-0 and advanced to the FA Cup final first. In the next semi-final, Zhejiang team eliminated Shanghai Haigang in a penalty shootout, reached the final of the FA Cup for the first time in the team’s history.
On the night of June 3, 2022, the opening match of the 2022 Super League season started at Wuyuanhe Stadium in Haikou. In that match, Shandong Taishan defeated Zhejiang team 1-0 and started well. At 15:30 on January 15, the 2022 Chinese football season will be “ended late” at the Suzhou Olympic Sports Center. In the height of this season’s FA Cup battle, the opponents are also Shandong Taishan and Zhejiang. I wonder if Shandong Taishan can have the last laugh in this duel?
Struggling hard to advance in Shandong Taishan has suffered a lot
“It’s not easy for the team to get to the present day. To get into the FA Cup semi-finals, it must be said that the task has basically been completed, so the FA Cup can be completed in full. Don’t lose too bad, just complete the task .” Shanghai Shenhua and Shandong Before the semi-finals began in Taishan, Shanghai Shenhua head coach Wu Jingui said in a very low tone that the match should be won if it loses less.
It should be said that the young people of Shanghai Shenhua have done too much of the task. This campaign, Wu Jingui has 6 U21 players and 1 U23 player in the starting lineup. But it was these young men who caused a lot of trouble for Shandong Taishan, which started the battle with double foreign aid. In the first half of the match, the two teams’ most threatening attack came from Shanghai Shenhua. In the 27th minute of the game, Zhou Junchen deflected the defender into the Shandong Taishan penalty area and took a strong shot, which was cleared off the crossbar of the goal and Shandong Taishan ran away.
In the second half of the game, after Shandong Taishan coach Hao Wei made constant personnel adjustments, the team’s attack gradually improved. In the 77th minute of the game, Qi Tianyu, who came off the bench, sent an assist, and Song Long scored a goal to help the team break the deadlock. Six minutes later, Moises scored a point, sealing the win for Shandong Taishan. In the post-match press conference, Wu Jingui fully affirmed the performance of the players on the field: “There is indeed a certain gap between us and our opponents in terms of overall strength, but our players have shown the spirit of daring to fight , the courage to take the ball and the courage to fight in the game. , I am gratified by the performance of the players. I am very satisfied that the young players were able to stay in defense for more than 70 minutes against such a strong opponent and it has created many opportunities”.
Moises, who was voted player of the game after the game, said in an interview: “Faced with any professional team retiring across the board, the game will be difficult, but we are very patient and have made a good job.scoring goals.and winning in the end.
After a tough battle, Shandong Taishan achieved the feat of reaching the FA Cup Finals for five consecutive seasons. In this match against Shanghai Shenhua, Shandong Taishan also paid a very high price. In the 79th minute, Cressan, who just returned from injury, received a red card for his irrational behavior and will miss the FA Cup final. This is undoubtedly a big loss for Shandong Taishan. Hao Wei also bluntly said during the post-match press conference that Cresan’s move was too impulsive: “We will communicate with him in time when we come back. He really shouldn’t have this kind of behavior on the pitch.” he also said that although the team There are not many people available on the offensive side, but the coaching staff will work hard to find a corresponding solution.
The Zhejiang team made history with a penalty kick
In another FA Cup semi-final later in the day, the Zhejiang team defeated Shanghai Haigang in a penalty shootout to advance to the FA Cup Final for the first time in the team’s history. Although, from the point of view of the strength on paper, the Shanghai Seaport is the most dominant side, but the Zhejiang team’s elimination of the Shanghai Seaport can hardly be called an overturn. You know, in the two clashes of the Chinese Super League this season, the Zhejiang team achieved a win and a draw, giving them an advantage.
When Mu Xiekui helped the Zhejiang team advance to the finals with a penalty kick, the Zhejiang team coach and his fans in the stands started celebrating with excitement. Team coach Jody said after the game that the team can go further, relying on their own efforts: “We played the team’s tactics most of the game, which also helped us win the game. Also our goalkeeping coach has done a lot of analysis on the penalty shootout, including pre-match preparations, etc. All the points we can check have been done well, so in the end we are lucky.”
January 14 is the 25th birthday of the Zhejiang team. The general of the Zhejiang team, which reached the FA Cup final, is looking forward to handing the championship trophy to the club. Frank, the captain of the Zhejiang team, who returned to the team before the battle with the port of Shanghai, was elected the best player of the game. In an interview after the match, Frank said, “The opponent Shandong Taishan in the final is a very powerful team and the match is bound to be very difficult. But just like today, we will fight to the end every minute of the match. Fight to win the last trophy.”
But general Shandong Taishan is also full of desire for the FA Cup championship trophy. Shandong Taishan, which has won the FA Cup championship trophy seven times, is the team that has won the most championships in the history of the FA Cup and can be called the true “king of the cup” in Chinese football. This Sunday, General Shandong Taishan will drop an impact on the eighth FA Cup championship trophy in the team’s history. After the FA Cup semi-finals ended, many Shandong Taishan fans had booked their tickets to Suzhou immediately, ready to go to the venue to cheer on the team. Looking forward to, Shandong Taishan can achieve the feat of three consecutive championships to the applause of the fans, and successfully end the 2022 season. (Yao Zheng, Jinan Times New Yellow River client reporter)
