Wuhan Three Towns' first winter training match, a "baseline test" under new coach Mora

Reporter Lu Mi reporting from Kunming Fully reassembled, Wuhan Three Towns have been training at the Hongta Base for over ten days. Head coach Mora and his staff have arrived in Kunming to officially lead the team. On the 15th, the team played their first training match since winter training began, facing Shanghai Port B team. The squad featured a mix of Three Towns' first team and B team players as Mora aimed to assess the players more thoroughly through this match to develop suitable tactics.

The physical recovery phase of Three Towns' winter training has concluded, and starting yesterday, the team entered the warm-up match phase.

On the afternoon of the 15th, Three Towns played their first training match of the winter against Shanghai Port B team. The match was divided into three 45-minute periods, serving as an opportunity for players to showcase themselves. After all, with a new coaching staff, everyone is "unknown." Who gets significant playing time depends heavily on winter training and these warm-up matches. Notably, both the first team and B team are involved this winter, as Mora looks to promote young players to the first team.

In the first two periods, Mora arranged combinations of main squad players plus B team members, with each segment featuring new partnerships between veterans and newcomers. Though just a training match, Mora was very detailed in his demands for players' defensive work and passing. In the first period, the team won 1-0 thanks to a penalty scored by young player Xia Xiaoxi; the second period ended in a 1-2 loss; the third period was essentially an internal scrimmage between the first team's substitutes and B team players.

Currently, Three Towns' roster is not yet complete. All three periods featured only domestic players, as recently returned foreign player Shao'er only participated in recovery training and is not yet match-fit.

“This is the first warm-up match, mainly intended for players to treat it as a training session and to maintain their winter training fitness. There were some tactical requirements, but nothing too complicated. We started simply to help players gradually regain confidence on the pitch,” Mora said. He added that they will edit videos of this match to analyze with the players and help them improve.

“The lineup in the first period was different, and the players met my defensive and tactical demands quite well, especially defensively, as they gave the opponents few chances to penetrate. Overall, it felt secure. The second period featured a mixed lineup of veterans and some young players, but defensively they sometimes lost organization and did not perform well enough. The third period mainly served to evaluate the younger players.”

Looking at the domestic players within the team, the depth in central defense and midfield is relatively sufficient. Players like He Guan, Liu Yiming, and Wang Yi remain on the squad, while experienced veterans such as Liao Chengjian and Zheng Kaimu, alongside young talents like Min Zixi and Zou Zhenxiang, provide midfield options. Therefore, the primary focus this winter transfer window remains filling the foreign player vacancies.

It is understood that the specific foreign player signings are expected to be finalized within the next week, but due to visa procedures and other factors, they may not join the winter training in Kunming and could instead meet the team later in Thailand.

Regarding domestic player movements, at the goalkeeper position, last season’s strong performers Guo Jiayu and Wei Minzhe remain, while Shao Puliang has officially left. Fang Jingqi, who recently parted ways with Tianjin Tigers, officially joined Three Towns on the 15th but did not participate in the training match that day. Additionally, defender Li Shenyuan, who played for Changchun Yatai last season, is highly likely to join.

“At this stage, our focus is on evaluating each player’s characteristics and abilities. Later, we will develop corresponding tactics based on their strengths to suit the team’s style of play. If building the team is like constructing a house, we are still in the preparation phase. Once the personnel is confirmed and we understand their traits, we will establish a playing style that fully leverages their qualities and style,” Mora explained.

Next, Three Towns will increase the number of warm-up matches, facing Henan Songshan Longmen on the 18th and Kunshan on the 22nd, both teams from the Chinese Super League.