Nantong Zhiyun was relegated one round ahead of schedule! did not wait for a miracle, the "children of Jiangdong" still looked forward to a "comeback"

Special correspondent Jiang Hai reports There is no miracle of scoring three goals in a row, and there is no miracle of two consecutive wins after putting it to death. On October 27, on a gloomy late autumn afternoon, Nantong Zhiyun lost 1-3 at home to Beijing Guoan, which was a step ahead. The defeat in this game means that the Zhiyun team, which has 22 points, has been relegated ahead of schedule by 4 points from the relegation zone with the last round of the league remaining.

As far as this game is concerned, the Nantong Zhiyun team must be unwilling, and the Nantong fans may also be uneasy, because the team has actually played quite good content, and they have the courage to fight to the death to attack with all their might, but the god of luck has not been on their side since the beginning.

In the 4th minute, Fang Hao of the national security team transferred a cross, Fabio sent a straight stopper, Lin Liangming hit the far corner, and Nantong Zhiyun fell behind 0-1. Such a bad start is undoubtedly a "reprieve" for the Zhiyun team. Subsequently, Nantong Zhiyun threatened the goal of the Guoan team again and again with beautiful attacks, until the end of the first half, another huge blow came - Guoan took a corner kick, and Ngadwu scored with a header, and the score became 0-2.

At the start of the second half, Nantong Zhiyun did not give up. In the 49th minute, Nantong Zhiyun midfielder played a match, Caron cut inside after winning the ball, and then shot with his feet, blasting out a world wave, the ball hit the post and bounced into the net, 1 to 2! This goal, which can be called the most exciting goal of this round, rekindled the last hope of the Zhiyun team to stay in the Chinese Super League. Since then, Nantong Zhiyun's formation has been more forward, and he has also obtained many opportunities to shoot, but he has missed the goal again and again. In the 69th minute, Guoan's Fabio received Lin Liangming's diagonal pass in the penalty area, and hit the near post after getting rid of the defense, and the score became 1-3 - Guoan's goal basically shattered the Zhiyun team's dream of relegation.

In the 82nd minute, Fabio was tripped in a scramble in front of the field, and the referee awarded a penalty. Fabio did not take the penalty, Zhang Yuning took the penalty. And Zhang Yuning's shot was bravely saved by Zhiyun team goalkeeper Xue Qinghao, which was a highlight moment for the team on the defensive end. It's a pity that the goalkeeper saved a penalty kick, and it couldn't change the fate of Nantong Zhiyun's defeat and relegation.

At the post-match press conference, Nantong Zhiyun head coach David · Patricio said: "Today our players performed very well, we created similar opportunities to our opponents, but Guoan's players have a stronger ability to seize opportunities, congratulations to them!" Today is a sad day for our club and our fans. We can feel the love we have in every game and I am sure that with these lovely fans, the future of our club will be very bright! ”

Nantong Zhiyun Football Club was established in 2015 and played in the China Second League for the first time in 2016. In 2018, in the third season of the second division, the Zhiyun team defeated Shaanxi Daqin Zhishui in the semifinals and successfully won the first division.

In 2019, Nantong Zhiyun, who participated in the Chinese League for the first time, encountered a serious challenge, they have been struggling near the relegation zone, and in the last round they unexpectedly defeated Qingdao Huanghai team, which had already surpassed the success at that time, and with the defeat of Sichuan FC, Zhiyun team miraculously succeeded in relegation. This relegation also allowed the Zhiyun team to gain a firm foothold in the Central League, and in the following seasons, it won the third place in the Central League in 2022 and successfully surpassed.

In the 2023 season of the Chinese Super League, Nantong Zhiyun lost to Tianjin Jinmen Tiger at home in the last round, and was lucky to be relegated with the help of Dalian Renren's home defeat to Shanghai Port; This season obviously did not have the good luck of last season, after being sentenced to "death" and seeing a glimmer of hope after two consecutive victories with tenacious fighting spirit, Nantong Zhiyun finally "ran out of the last bullet" and was relegated.

It is worth mentioning that Nantong Zhiyun has always had a group of loyal fans. As early as the time of the Chinese Second League, the Nantong Division was able to reach an average of more than 10,000 seats per game, and in the two seasons of the Chinese Super League, the atmosphere of Zhiyun's home stadium can also be called the "gold medal ball market". After the game on the 27th, Nantong Zhiyun captain Liu Wei had swollen eyes and left a sentence in an interview: "I'm sorry, fans!" ”

Under the battle report of Nantong Zhiyun's official WeChat public account, the fans' comments were moving. The most liked one, from WeChat user "Song Y Q": "Nantong, I cry for you tonight, I have been fighting in the Super League for two years, and I still haven't escaped the curse of relegation in the second year of the promotion horse, who has never had a dream, these 9 years we have realized the original dream step by step, so that this small city has a top league team, regret missed so many great opportunities this year, regret that the city can not compete in the Super League next year, relegation is not terrible, the courage to have a new start is the most important, we have such a good fan base, Such a perfect youth training reserve, such a good stadium, I believe that as long as everyone's hearts are united, it is only a matter of time to return to this stage, and I firmly believe that one day in the future, this pearl of the river and sea will rise again in the Super League with a new attitude, just as Zhiyun Tower has stood on the top of Zilang for nearly a thousand years! ”

"Jiangdong Children" has such a huge fan base, I believe that the Nantong Zhiyun team will have a "comeback" one day.