Wuhan Three Towns defeated Shenzhen New Peng City 2-0, securing their first win in 11 rounds, and with one game in hand, they are now just 3 points behind Qingdao Hainiu. A 21-year-old rising star scored his debut goal.

In a crucial fixture of the 19th round of the Chinese Super League, ending on the evening of July 18 Beijing time, Wuhan Three Towns defeated Shenzhen New Peng City 2-0 at home. Following the end of their 10-match winless run, they are just 3 points adrift of Qingdao Hainiu, who sit outside the relegation zone, with one game less played.

Just six minutes into the match, Three Towns came close to an early lead. Li Ang headed the ball, but Peng Peng made a close-range save to deny them.

In the 10th minute, the visiting team Shenzhen New Peng City suffered a setback. Foreign center-back Gabriel made a dangerous challenge in the box, kicking Ming Tian in the face. The referee initially showed a yellow card, but after VAR intervention, he reviewed the incident and upgraded it to a straight red card, leaving New Peng City with one man down early in the game.

In the 35th minute, Three Towns finally broke the deadlock. Bevis sent a cross from the left, Cadiz headed it back to the near post, and Xiong Jizheng followed up to score, making it 1-0. This was the first career goal for the 21-year-old Xiong Jizheng.

In the fourth minute of first-half stoppage time, Shen Huanming made a defensive error, gifting the ball to Wang Jinxian, who slotted it home from the center of the box, extending the lead to 2-0 for Three Towns.

After the break, in the 57th minute, Three Towns nearly increased their advantage. Xiong Jizheng fired a volley, but Peng Peng saved it.

In the 87th minute, Yao Junsheng set up a chance, and Zhou Dingyang’s shot from the middle was saved.

In the end, Three Towns held on to the victory. With this win, they ended their embarrassing 10-match winless streak (6 draws and 4 losses). After securing their first win in 11 rounds, Three Towns now have 3 wins, 7 draws, and 8 losses, totaling 11 points with a 5-point deduction, temporarily moving off the bottom of the table. With one game in hand, they are only 3 points behind Qingdao Hainiu, who are outside the relegation zone.

As for Shenzhen New Peng City, they have lost 3 of their last 4 matches, and after 19 rounds, they have 6 wins, 2 draws, and 11 losses, totaling 20 points.