Home comeback against the Northwestern Wolves, all rivals lost, Guangzhou Leopards continue to lead the China League One!

Reported by Wang Wei and intern Li Xin. On the evening of June 27, Guangzhou Leopards hosted their old rival Shaanxi United at home. With goals from Wang Jianming and Han Xuan, both former players of Shaanxi Chang'an Athletic, Guangzhou Leopards overturned a deficit to win 2-1. As Shenzhen Youth and Nantong Zhiyun both lost in this round, Guangzhou Leopards remain at the top of the league table, increasing their lead to three points.

Guangzhou Leopards and Shaanxi United are old adversaries. From the Chinese Champions League to the China League Two and now the China League One, the two teams have faced each other many times across different tiers. Guangzhou Leopards hold a slight edge with two wins, three draws, and one loss.

In the Guangzhou Leopards squad, both the head coach and players have strong ties to Shaanxi: head coach Feng Feng once managed Shaanxi Chang'an Athletic, goalkeeping coach Li Wei is from Shaanxi; players Wang Jianming, Han Xuan, Chen Junxu, Deng Biao, Ma Junliang, among others, have all played football in Shaanxi. On the Shaanxi United side, there are also many Guangdong elements. Wang Jianan, He Lipan, Guo Wuyue, Mi Haolun, Wang Shijie, Abduwahab, Tan Kaiyuan, Zhao Shi, Zhong Wen, Tang Tianyi, and Wei Zhiwei have all played for professional teams in Guangzhou, Shenzhen, or Meizhou.

Before the match, Guangzhou Leopards specially played video footage of previous encounters between the two teams to motivate their players to give their all. Shaanxi United had just undergone a coaching change, with Chen Tao, who recently left Shenzhen New Peng City, taking over as head coach. At the start of his tenure, he faced this tough away match against the league leaders.

At the start of the match, Shaanxi United struck first. Ma Sheng sent a precise long pass from the back, and Feng Boyuan, under tight marking and unable to turn, managed a side-foot volley to score, giving Shaanxi United a 1-0 lead away from home. Despite falling behind early, Guangzhou Leopards remained calm and continued to control the game. In the 30th minute, Wang Jianming received a precise long pass from U21 youngster Wang Junjie on the left flank and responded with a long-range world-class strike from outside the box, leveling the score at 1-1 (see photo above. Photo/GZ Leopards official Weibo). After the match, Wang Jianming said he had specifically practiced shooting before the game. In fact, such difficult goals are his "signature move" every season; last season against Nanjing City, he dribbled and turned inside the box to score a stunning goal.

In the second half, Guangzhou Leopards scored again through a header from Han Xuan, turning the score to 2-1. As the match neared its end, with the support of traveling fans, Shaanxi United launched a final assault. Under intense pressure, the home team nearly scored an own goal, but Guangzhou Leopards ultimately held on to the 2-1 victory, securing all three points at home.

Han Xuan, who scored the winning goal, said: "When we were behind, I just thought we had to win this game. Luckily, I scored a goal, and the team eventually completed the comeback. After going through such a tough match, our team's cohesion will grow stronger, and everyone will get better and better."

It is worth noting that both goal scorers Wang Jianming and Han Xuan have played in Shaanxi before. Regarding this experience, Han Xuan felt it was nothing special; professional football is like that: "I think this was just a normal match. Against any team, I will give my all. On the field, I think we should focus more on the game and not think too much about other things."

After the match, Feng Feng said: "This was a very intense game, and it was also the first time we have come from behind to win. The whole team's eventual victory is gratifying. Most encouragingly, the team displayed a high-spirited morale, and it was precisely this drive that helped us fight through this crucial match."

Feng Feng also has a deep connection with Shaanxi football. Years ago, he served as a firefighting head coach for Shaanxi Chang'an Athletic and achieved good results, earning the affection of Shaanxi fans. Talking about the match against old rival Shaanxi United, Feng Feng said the coaching staff made thorough preparations: "We were fully mentally prepared for the difficulty of this game. We anticipated that the match would be tight and might even be deadlocked until the last moment. Whether it was the players' mental state or other aspects, we were well-prepared. The opponent scored on their first shot, which put considerable psychological pressure on our players. However, we managed to stabilize the situation in the first half. In the second half, through effective personnel rotations, we maintained our attacking pressure and continuously threatened the opponent."

In this round, the other two promotion favorites, Shenzhen Youth, lost 4-5 away to Dalian Kuncheng in a goal fest, while Nantong Zhiyun fell 1-3 to Meizhou Hakka. Both strong pursuers suffered defeats, allowing Guangzhou Leopards to extend their lead over them to three and four points respectively. Guangzhou Leopards captain Liao Junjian said: "After the match, we learned the results of the other two promotion rivals. This highlights even more the importance of our comeback win over Shaanxi United. We need to maintain our momentum and keep pushing forward."

Aiming for promotion, Guangzhou Leopards will reinforce their forward line during this summer transfer window. The club is currently in talks with a target foreign striker. On July 4, Guangzhou Leopards will travel to face Suzhou Dongwu, who are in the relegation zone.