After a tough battle, the team has advanced to the semifinals of the FA Cup! With no way out, they fought through and took a breath.

Special Contributor/Song Ci Almost the same experience as the previous round of the FA Cup, the team once again went through 120 minutes of fierce competition and a penalty shootout. Although they narrowly defeated the West Coast again, they managed to pull through. Advancing to the semifinals of the FA Cup allows the team to take a slight breath, especially after recently losing to Shenhua in a top-of-the-table clash; this victory is crucial for the entire team's confidence recovery.

Three days ago, the team had just suffered a bitter defeat at home, and the pain of losing to Shenhua is something they have to digest slowly. However, the packed schedule does not give them much time to recover from the emotional blow, forcing them to grit their teeth and step back onto the field. The FA Cup match against Qingdao West Coast must only have one outcome for the team: they must defeat their opponent, or they risk facing the embarrassment of failing on two fronts.

Before the match, when discussing how to adjust to the psychological impact of the recent loss, head coach Setien candidly stated: "We all hope to avoid failure, but since it has happened, we cannot change the outcome. What we can do now is to summarize our mistakes, learn from the defeat, and show our improvements through our performance on the field." Similarly, player Wang Ziming straightforwardly said: "We have no way out; we must give it our all. We will regain our confidence through the matches, and every game is extremely important now; we will show our best side."

Because of the importance of this match, Setien made minimal rotations to the starting lineup, including fielding both foreign center-backs who were considered to have made mistakes in the previous round. This shows his trust in them, but injuries and fatigue still had a significant impact on the team. Zhang Yuning left the field due to injury in the 21st minute, reportedly suffering from a muscle strain, which could affect future matches. Additionally, Spajic, Li Lei, and Chi Zhongguo all experienced various injuries. It can be said that the team paid a considerable price for the victory in this match.

In the end, in this do-or-die match, the team once again relied on the outstanding performance of goalkeeper Hou Sen to advance. Hou Sen, who was named the best player of the match, first prevented the opponent from equalizing again after they leveled the score in the 90th minute, and then heroically saved the first penalty in the shootout. After the match, Hou Sen expressed that winning this match after losing to Shenhua was a boost for everyone. The team is currently in a tough situation, and everyone must unite; someone needs to step up.

Before the penalty shootout, there was another detail. Hou Sen specifically told captain Fabio, who was picking a side, to choose the goal near the fans of the team if possible. Hou Sen stated: "With our fans behind us, we feel more confident because we believe in the energy of our supporters."

To be fair, given the team's player configuration, facing Qingdao West Coast, even playing away and just coming off a significant loss, they should not have allowed the opponent to equalize twice after taking the lead twice.

In the past month, aside from a 4-0 away victory against Meizhou in the league, every other match has been very challenging for the team, including home games against weaker opponents. The performance displayed does not reflect the strength expected of a championship-contending team. This FA Cup match against Qingdao West Coast was no exception; even within the regular 90 minutes, the team appeared very passive in the second half, and at one point, some fans felt that merely surviving to extra time would be a significant achievement.

During extra time, substitute Cao Yongjing scored a goal in the 117th minute and excitedly took off his jersey to celebrate. Perhaps in Cao Yongjing's mind, even receiving a yellow card was worth it if it meant "killing" the match. In fact, this was almost the shared sentiment among the fans, as everyone thought the team would not have to go through a penalty shootout. However, just two minutes later, Qingdao West Coast equalized with a header from a set piece, marking the 10th goal conceded by the team in their last seven matches. Such defensive lapses are hard to imagine for a team aspiring to compete for the league title.

After the match, head coach Setien commented: "In the first half, both sides were evenly matched; our team created chances but failed to capitalize. In the second half, we entered a fatigue phase, which affected our control of the game."

Regarding the performance of the defense, Setien stated that before entering extra time, the team faced significant difficulties defensively. "At that time, 3-4 players were struggling with fatigue and requested substitutions. If I had substitution opportunities, I would have replaced them. Having just played an important match three days ago, it took a toll on the players' physical and mental state. In the final stages, the opponent constantly pressured our defense with their speed. Although we did well in limiting them and even took the lead at one point, we ultimately struggled in the final phase."

Advancing in the FA Cup only allows the team to take a slight breath, but this relief won't last long, as they will face a strong opponent in the league this weekend away against Chengdu Rongcheng. If the team cannot promptly adjust the players' physical and mental states, they will face even more difficulties.