The 32nd round of the 2022 China League One was held at Nanjing Jiangning Football Training Base Stadium at 2:00 p.m. on November 28, with Shaanxi Chang'an Athletic and Nantong Zhiyun battling it out. Nantong Zhiyun lost to Shaanxi Chang'an Athletic with a score of 2-3. Although Nantong Zhiyun suffered three consecutive defeats, Shijiazhuang's fourth place in the Central League was shaken. Nantong Zhiyun and Qingdao Hainiu have completed their overtaking of the ranking two rounds ahead of schedule with the completion of this round.
Nantong Jiyun's Splendid Journey
Nantong Zhiyun Football Club, whose predecessor can be traced back to the establishment of Guangxi Longguida Club on December 17, 2014, became the first professional team in the history of Nantong and even Rugao through the acquisition of Guangxi Longguida and its qualification for the Chinese League B in 2015, and the team's home stadium is located at the Nantong Olympic Sports Center, carrying the glory of the city. The team's home stadium is located in Rugao Olympic Sports Center, carrying the city glory of Nantong.
The name "Zhiyun" originates from Nantong's iconic building, Zhiyun Tower, which stands at the peak of Wolf Mountain and is the symbol of Nantong. The team's name not only highlights its goal of building a century-old club and becoming a new landmark in Nantong, but also maps out its ambition to rise in the soccer field.
On March 13, 2016, Nantong Zhiyun FC held the launch ceremony and 2016 season pledge meeting in Rugao Jindu Jinding Hotel. The club announced the ambitious goal of "three years to reach the first division and five years to reach the super league". In the league from 2016 to 2017, Nantong Zhiyun ranked 16th and 8th respectively, and in 2018, the team won the second place in the Chinese B. From 2019 to 2021, Nantong Zhiyun will be ranked at the 12th place for three consecutive years.
In the first round of this season's Central League, Nantong Zhiyun defeated Suzhou Dongwu 1-0 on the road and ranked fourth. In the following 31 rounds of matches, Nantong Zhiyun always maintained its position in the promotion zone with excellent performance. In the first 26 rounds of the league, the team achieved an undefeated record of 19 wins and 7 draws. Especially in the first 5 rounds, Nantong Zhiyun achieved 5 consecutive victories and stayed in the second place in the Central League in the 9 rounds from the 23rd to the 31st rounds.
If they can beat Shaanxi Chang'an Athletic in this round, Nantong Zhiyun will be able to lock the top three places in the Central League two rounds ahead of schedule and realize overtaking. If they draw with Shaanxi Chang'an Athletic and Shijiazhuang loses in the match, Nantong Zhiyun can also complete the overtaking two rounds ahead of schedule. However, this afternoon, Nantong Zhiyun lost to Shaanxi Chang'an Athletic by a score of 2-3, but despite this, they are seven points ahead of Shijiazhuang with 70 points, successfully realizing two rounds ahead of the overtaking.
