Switching to a four-defender formation in time, Xinpengcheng held firm in the relegation battle!

Reported by Wang Wei On August 31, Shenzhen Xinpengcheng relied on foreign player Wesley’s two goals to defeat Meizhou Hakka 2-0 at home. In this relegation battle Guangdong derby, Shenzhen Xinpengcheng gained a “half-step” lead over Meizhou Hakka, rising to 13th place, but only eased the pressure slightly, while Meizhou Hakka faced a more urgent relegation threat.

Before the match, Meizhou Hakka and Shenzhen Xinpengcheng were tied at 17 points, sitting 13th and 14th in the league respectively, just one point above the relegation zone. This game was a must-win for both teams, so neither side took chances and both started with five foreign players. In the 34th minute, Meizhou Hakka’s foreign player Ngom committed a foul inside his own penalty area, resulting in a penalty kick which Wesley converted, giving Xinpengcheng a 1-0 lead. In the 44th minute, Ngom crossed from the byline, Yang Chaoshen followed up to score, but the referee ruled the ball had gone out of bounds before the pass, disallowing the goal.

After halftime, Meizhou Hakka launched an all-out attack as they had no choice but to take risks, while Shenzhen Xinpengcheng exploited the spaces left behind with quick counterattacks. After multiple missed chances by Meizhou Hakka, their opponents scored again. In the 72nd minute, Wesley scored on a rebound to extend the lead to 2-0. After his second goal, Wesley covered his face and wept for a long time, showing the immense pressure the team faced in the relegation fight. “We prepared very well this week, and I helped the team with two goals. I hope I can keep scoring to help the team survive,” Wesley said after the match.

In this match, Pep, who had suffered five consecutive defeats, adjusted the team formation by switching from five defenders to four, achieving good results. Regarding this change, Pep said after the game: “Actually, our organization at the back didn’t change much. Today’s change was pushing Zhang Wei forward in attack, similar to a wing midfielder, while without the ball we returned to a 4-1-4-1 formation. The advantage is better pressing on the opponent, preventing them from easily launching long balls behind us. Playing five defenders requires wing-backs to run up and down a lot, which is very demanding. Today the players understood and executed the tactics very well. Both wing-backs Wang Qiao and Zhang Wei succeeded in one-on-one defense on the flanks. Although De Leongso, Edu, Wesley, and An Yongjia are attacking players, they all actively participated in defense, which was very important for us.”

Meizhou Hakka created multiple scoring opportunities during the match, but Shenzhen Xinpengcheng’s defense finally held firm. Pep commented: “In the second half, the opponent indeed created many chances through counterattacks, mainly because we made poor attacking decisions upfront, losing possession. Our defense, including Dugalić, Hu Ruibao, Karlceff, and the full-backs, performed lots of coordinated defense and protection as trained, marking the opponent’s attackers closely. Actually, all our players were very well prepared. Despite the heavy pressure, everyone stood firm today and ultimately won this match for the fans in Shenzhen, for our families, for the club, and most importantly, for the city of Shenzhen.”