Beijing-Tianjin Derby,国安's 21-Year Home unbeaten Record Broken

Special Contributor/Song Ci On April 25th evening, the first Beijing-Tianjin Derby of this season took place in the 8th round of the Chinese Super League. The home team Beijing国安 conceded two goals early in the first half. Despite a resilient comeback to tie the score in the second half, they were then hit with two more goals from the opponent, ending in a 2-4 defeat to Tianjin Jinmen虎. This result terminated国安's 21-year unbeaten home streak against Tianjin. Simultaneously, embarrassingly,国安 has yet to secure a victory at their home stadium, the Workers' Stadium, this season.

After returning from two consecutive away matches,国安 showed signs of fatigue, particularly as many key players are older. Nevertheless, veterans like Li Lei and Wang Gang started again. From the first half,国安 dominated possession with a 73.5% rate, and their passing numbers and success rates were triple those of the opponent. Unfortunately, the opponent scored two goals from just three shots on target.

From国安's conceded goals, it's evident they were caught on quick counterattacks while pressing forward, leading to defensive errors. In this match, several国安 defenders made unforced mistakes, each contributing to the opponent's goals. Notably, every shot from the opponent was a spectacular strike. Moreover, all goals for Jinmen虎 were scored by foreign players, highlighting the gap in offensive firepower. On国安's side, they relied solely on goals from Zhang Yuning and Lin Liangming, as foreign strikers Fabio and Nkololo were absent due to injuries.

As the match neared its end, the broadcast镜头 focused on Fabio in the stands, his eyes filled with helplessness and melancholy—he longed to play more than anyone.国安's frontline wasn't just missing their top scorer; with other injured players also unavailable, the bench lacked genuine forwards. Due to this shortage, coach Montgomery pushed Serginho forward, but the naturalized player's performance was evidently not ideal.

Post-match, Serginho appeared disappointed in interviews, stating the team had given their best, but the opponent's four shots resulted in four goals—a result hard to accept.

Regarding the loss, Serginho said, "Our mindset on the field was unanimous: to win for the fans. Unfortunately, we couldn't achieve it. Losing at home is always painful, but now we must focus on performing well in future matches, as we aim to show our best selves."

After the match,国安 coach Montgomery addressed the reasons for the defeat: "I'm disappointed with today's result. I just told the players it wasn't about lacking effort or skill, but moments of lapsed concentration. We knew how the opponent would play—they'd retreat and seek counterattacks. I haven't seen the exact stats, but a few shots yielded four goals for them. We must accept this. Naive mistakes on our part led to this. Even after equalizing, we had chances to make it 3-2. We clearly understood their sharp counters but failed to contain them; we lacked focus at critical moments."

After analyzing the issues, Montgomery unequivocally took full responsibility: "As head coach, I bear all responsibility. The players gave everything on the field, so the blame for this match lies with me. My players fought hard. We secured a win in Shenzhen, but today we made errors—I take responsibility for those. My players performed excellently."

When pressed by media on how he would take responsibility, Montgomery reiterated: "I indeed said as head coach I bear all responsibility. We can't dwell on the past. We didn't want to lose this match; we hoped for better performance. But we had moments of poor concentration and paid the price. Now, we must do better going forward."

This match saw国安 with 51 crosses, most ineffective. Analyzing this, Montgomery again attributed the issue to himself: "The opponent defended excellently, particularly in intercepting crosses and blocking shots. My disappointment stems from the players' immense effort. We have the best fans; they cheered us on post-match. But we failed to deliver a good result for them, so I take responsibility."

In past wins,国安 often set team records. This loss to Jinmen虎 became a backdrop for the opponent's record-breaking. This match marked Tianjin's first win at国安's home in 21 years, since 2005. Additionally, it was Tianjin's first victory by more than one goal at国安's home, and their first time scoring over three goals there.

Tianjin's foreign players shone exceptionally, particularly Giles, who set a personal record: scoring twice in three consecutive matches against国安, achieving an unusual 'hat-trick'.

This Beijing-Tianjin Derby attracted 55,396 spectators to the Workers' Stadium. Pre-match, many fans anticipated a tough game but didn't expect a home loss or conceding four goals. After the opponent led 4-2, fans reacted twofold: some quickly exited, others stayed booing the team, expressing discontent.

Internally,国安 acknowledges this performance is unacceptable to fans. However, they felt helpless due to controversial non-calls: two疑似 handballs in the opponent's penalty area. The club highlighted two incidents: in the 83rd minute, Da Wan's shot疑似 hit opponent player No.3 Wang Zhenhao's hand; in the 94th minute, Da Wan's shot疑似 struck opponent player No.11 Xie Weijun's arm. The team submitted video evidence of these疑似 handballs immediately post-match, and the club may lodge appeals regarding these calls.