Old Friends Meet: Feng Feng Relieves Pressure, Yan Feng Bears Pressure

Special Contributor/Liu Zhun On the field they are fierce rivals, off the field they share mutual respect. When Changchun Yatai's head coach Yan Feng and Guangzhou Bao's head coach Feng Feng met in Changchun, the situations of these two old friends had just slightly improved due to consecutive wins. However, this ensuing encounter became a litmus test battle for both: the former needed a fourth consecutive win to further rebuild confidence, while the latter required a third consecutive win to secure the leading position for their promotion push. The result, in this China League One focal match concluded on April 26, was Changchun Yatai losing 1-2 to Guangzhou Bao at home, ending their own three-win streak while handing their opponents a third consecutive victory.

In this season's China League One, Guangzhou Bao is widely recognized as a team with strong promotion potential, and their performance of 4 wins and 1 loss in the first 5 rounds confirms their ambition for promotion. In contrast, Changchun Yatai, experiencing a second relegation, is a team in need of rebuilding. Not only has their squad changed significantly, but they also started from negative points, making survival a more realistic goal than promotion.

The seasonal goals of the two teams are completely different, yet they both faced equal pressure at the start of the league campaign. Guangzhou Bao, leading the points table, constantly faced pursuit and pressure from chasing teams behind them. Before the match, Yan Feng and Feng Feng appeared at Changchun Jingkai Sports Stadium. The old friends met and exchanged greetings, but Yan Feng had a hidden hardship: his foreign player Camilo was injured, leaving Changchun Yatai unable to face the league leader with their strongest lineup.

On match day, the weather in Changchun was good, with temperatures suitable for play, but such favorable conditions did not bring luck to Yan Feng. Within 1 minute and 28 seconds of the start, Guangzhou Bao utilized a corner kick tactic, with Liao Junjian scoring amidst chaos to take the lead. By the 6th minute of the match, Yan Feng's key midfielder Dili Yimiti fell injured during a tackle and was urgently taken to the hospital for treatment. Facing an unfavorable start, Yan Feng had to send in the U21 player Wu Zhicheng to handle the midfield's offensive and defensive transitions.

It is worth noting that U19 national youth team assistant coach Zang Haili appeared at Changchun Jingkai Sports Stadium. This was his second visit to Changchun this season, focusing on assessing the age-appropriate player Wu Zhicheng.

This match was Yan Feng's seventh league game as head coach. Compared to the players, his desire for victory was more urgent. The current Changchun Yatai is at a low point in the team's historical development, with both domestic and foreign player configurations not meeting ideal standards. However, constrained by the club's current financial difficulties, the existing squad is already the optimal solution under权衡. Being in such困境, leading the team to break through and rise has become Yan Feng's primary immediate task. Before this match, Changchun Yatai successively defeated Suzhou Dongwu and陕西联合 at home, and力克佛山南狮 away, a three-win streak boosting team morale and gradually pulling them out of the低谷.

"I worked with Coach Feng for two years in陕西. In the second half of last year, Coach Feng started coaching Guangzhou Bao and hoped I would go there to assist him. During that half-season in Guangzhou, I learned a lot from Coach Feng and also understood this team's strength. Of course, I understand our respective situations too; a single loss could face external criticism. However, football matches always have wins and losses. As long as we can show spirit and fight within our现有实力, we can赢得球迷的理解," Yan Feng said.

Despite conceding an early goal, Changchun Yatai did not lose their composure. During the补时阶段 of the first half, Omoyihu Anfu created a penalty and converted it himself, scoring his first goal of the season. In the 65th minute, Guangzhou Bao again utilized a set-piece tactic, with Tuduo列 scoring via a header to seal the victory.

After the match, Feng Feng summarized: "This was a very intense match. We got a good start and scored a goal. In the second half, we used a set-piece opportunity to take the lead again." After Guangzhou Bao's 2-1 away win against Yatai, they accumulated 15 points, continuing to lead the China League One points table.

Feng Feng utilized two set-piece opportunities to secure the match victory, which made Yan Feng羡慕不已,毕竟本赛季长春亚泰还没有通过定位球战术取得进球. "Before the match, we practiced many set-piece tactics during preparation, but their effectiveness in实战 was not ideal. With foreign player Camilo absent, all players on the field gave 100% effort, presenting an精彩比赛 for the fans. Before the match, I told the team in the locker room that against a strong team like Guangzhou Bao,细节决定胜负. Today, we had many young players on the field; everyone fought hard, but细节做得不够好. Hopefully, we can improve on细节 in upcoming matches and gradually move closer to becoming a strong team," Yan Feng said.