Special Contributor / Jixing On March 14th, in the first round of the Chinese League One, Yanbian Longding Kexian secured a 3-0 victory over Meizhou Hakka Xiwang, achieving a successful season start. After the match, Yanbian Longding's head coach Li Jiheng summarized: "Unlike last season, we have a good beginning this time." In fact, the significance of this match extends beyond just setting a positive tone for the season; it also helped Yanbian Longding overcome a psychological hurdle—their away-game curse.

More satisfying than the goals was the clean sheet

Last season, Yanbian Longding's home record was 13 wins, 1 draw, and 1 loss, while their away record was only 3 wins, 6 draws, and 6 losses. Their first away victory was achieved in the 23rd round with a 1-0 win over Shanxi United, making them the latest team in the Chinese League One to secure an away victory last season—if their away performance had been better, Yanbian Longding would have succeeded in promotion to the Chinese Super League last season.

In the first round of last season, Yanbian Longding, playing away, was defeated 4-0 by Guangzhou Bao. The 3-0 victory over Meizhou Hakka this new season not only marks the best start in Yanbian Longding's four seasons in the Chinese League One, but also, tracing back the history of Yanbian football, it represents the best opening match—including the Jilin/Yanbian team in the era of Chinese League A, the Yanbian team in the Chinese League One era, and Yanbian Fude in the Chinese Super League era—none had such an inspiring start in their season opener.

In the first match of this season against the "relegated team" Meizhou Hakka, it was predictable that Yanbian Longding would hold some advantage, but not to such an extent of ease. After dropping to the Chinese League One, Meizhou Hakka underwent major changes, making their overall strength and磨合程度 incomparable to Yanbian Longding. Yanbian Long鼎 made substitutions in three positions: left center-back, left winger, and right wing-back, yet their overall磨合程度 and coordination were much more cohesive.

Xu Jizu, who intended to leave Yanbian Longding in consecutive seasons but ultimately stayed, said: "Our season begins with four consecutive away matches; today we started well, and we hope to secure victories in the upcoming away games." Due to weather conditions, Yanbian Longding's first four matches of the season are all away games; next round they will face Nanjing City away.

Li Jiheng stated in the post-match press conference: "Firstly, away matches in the first round are generally challenging, but the tactical preparations we developed during the winter training period were effectively executed on the field today, which I am quite satisfied with. Although we scored three goals, I would rather commend the players for not conceding any goals; they performed exceptionally well in this aspect."

They were the first players the head coach requested to renew contracts

After the kickoff, Yanbian Longding's overall control of the game was noticeably superior. In the 20th minute, 37-year-old Jin Taiyan assisted Huang Zhenfei in scoring from a close-range opportunity; two minutes later, Huang Zhenfei dribbled past defenders on the right flank and struck a spectacular left-footed shot from distance, effectively securing the 2-0 lead for Yanbian Longding. Regarding this goal, Huang Zhenfei remarked post-match that it was the most remarkable goal in his career so far. Although he received a yellow card for excessive celebration (kicking the advertising board), scoring two goals within two minutes completely restored his pride.

Meizhou Hakka's goalkeeper Hu Haoran joined this season from Changchun Xidu and was the best goalkeeper in the 2025 Chinese League Two, being an old rival of Huang Zhenfei.

In the 2024 season, Huang Zhenfei couldn't secure playing time at Nanjing City and was loaned to the Chinese League Four team Qinghai Kunlun. In the first round of the promotion playoffs of the 2024 Chinese League Two away against Changchun Xidu, Qinghai Kunlun获得 a penalty opportunity in the first half; Huang Zhenfei's penalty kick was saved by Hu Haoran. During the subsequent penalty shootout, Huang Zhenfei's penalty was again blocked by Hu Haoran, directly leading to Qinghai Kunlun's elimination by Changchun Xidu. In early 2025, Changchun Xidu was promoted to the Chinese League Two through替补.

Last season, Huang Zhenfei joined Yanbian Longding as a free agent. Despite experiencing the尴尬 of hitting the post twice consecutively in a match against Qingdao Red Lions, his confidence grew following a brace against Shanxi United. He not only solidified his position as a key player but also became the进攻核心 in the forward line.

This season, Huang Zhenfei and goalkeeper Kou Jiahao were the first players head coach Li Jiheng requested to renew contracts. Coincidentally, Kou Jiahao also played for the Chinese League Four team Guizhou Zhu城竞技 (now Guizhou Guiyang竞技) in the 2024 season, even having zero appearances that season. In this round against Meizhou Hakka, Huang Zhenfei scored twice in the forward line, while Kou Jiahao displayed exceptional stability as the last line of defense, heroically saving Meizhou's most threatening close-range shot. These two players, who were still playing in the Chinese League Four in 2024, now支撑 the forward and defensive lines of Yanbian Longding in the 2026 season, with fans戏称 this as the "rise of the League of the Disheartened."