In the quarterfinals of the FA Cup, dark horse Chongqing Tongliang Dragons showed an unstoppable momentum at home, continuing their myth of undefeated double. However, the strikers were unable to capitalize on the chances of their opponents and lost 0-2 to Chinese Super League giants Shanghai Shenhua. Chongqing Tongliang Dragons is a team from China B, and it was a miracle that they made it to the last eight. Against the two strongest teams, Tongliang Dragons did not lose and even dominated the field for a while. They knocked out Chengdu Rongcheng on penalties, but were defeated by Shenhua in an offensive battle.
With their excellent overall strength, Chongqing Tongliang Dragons made a 20-game unbeaten streak in China's Second Division and FA Cup before taking on Shenhua. With 4 wins in the FA Cup and 13 wins and 3 draws in the second division, the team is in great shape. The Tongliang Dragons were not unprepared for their home match against Shenhua. Coach Linlin adopted a 442 formation, with Chen Jiaqi and Yu Wang joining forces as the double strikers, Gong Yunyang, Chen Korui, Li Zhenquan and Dilixati-Abramiti forming a midfield foursome, and Wang Shiqin, Hu Yongfa, Zhao Hezhen and Yang Ting partnering in the backline with goalkeeper Zhang Haixuan guarding the goal. The average age of the starting lineup is only 24 years old, full of vitality, which makes people look forward to their future.
At the beginning of the match, Chongqing Tongliang Dragons adopted a defensive counter-attack tactic. In the 14th minute, Li Zhen's shot was blocked by the opponent, and Chen Kerui's long-distance shot was deflected out of the goal. In the 15th minute, Shanghai Shenhua showed a more sophisticated attack, and Hanchao scored a supplementary shot, which made Chongqing Tongliang Dragons fall behind by 0-1. In the 24th and 35th minutes, Tongliang Dragons launched a series of high-quality attacks, but failed to break through the goal. At the end of the first half, in the 43rd minute, Xu Hoyang broke through to the penalty area and skillfully slotted the ball into the goal, Fernando received the ball and shot the ball into the goal, Chongqing Tongliang Dragons fell behind 0-2, Shenhua suffered the first defeat of this season's double line. Nevertheless, the two teams continued to exchange fierce exchanges in the second half, but the score did not change again. In the whole game, Chongqing Tongliang Dragons had 41% of the possession, 11-9 shots, 5-5 shots on goal ratio, and finally lost 0-2, but they still played with their own style and level. In an interview after the match, Coach Linlin expressed his gratitude to the players for their hard work on the field and thanked the fans for their support and encouragement. He believes that despite the loss to Shenhua, it is a challenge and the team needs to summarize its experience and return to the training ground to make improvements. He is looking forward to meeting Shenhua again in a few years. The players were upset and some even shed tears, but the good thing is that they are about to win the S.B. Championship. Currently, they lead the table with 13 wins, 3 draws and 42 points, 7 points more than the second place team. With 6 rounds left in the league, the possibility of winning the title and promotion is extremely high. The future of Chongqing Tongliang Dragons is full of hope.
