Special Contributor/Ji Xing In the last round, facing Ningbo, the bottom-ranked team that had lost all four previous matches, and this round, playing at home against Shaanxi with an 11 vs 10 advantage for over 60 minutes, the final scores were both 0-0. Yanbian Longding Kexian's performance in their first two home matches this year has left outsiders quite disappointed. Last season, they only drew once in 15 home games (due to a referee's erroneous call disallowing a Yanbian Longding goal), but this season, their first two home matches have both been draws. Last season, Yanbian Longding relied on a home record of 13 wins, 1 draw, and 1 loss to join the promotion-chasing group. This season, they have only earned 2 points from their first two home matches, which is even less than their first two away matches (where they earned 4 points). The once frenzied home ground now seems to have lost its magic. Could Longding's promotion push be braking prematurely?

Two 0-0 draws at home, the head coach apologizes

Against Ningbo, it could be said that Yanbian Longding underestimated the match, not expecting the bottom-ranked team to have a strong desire to earn points. Meanwhile, luck was not on Yanbian Longding's side either; Huang Zhenfei's last-minute winning goal in stoppage time was ruled offside, later deemed a misjudgment by the football association. However, all of this was futile; the match result cannot be changed. Facing Shaanxi United this round, Longding head coach Li Jiheng stated before the match that they had been working on tactical combinations hoping to score goals, yet the match result still did not meet expectations.

In the match on April 25 afternoon, Yanbian Longding controlled the game and even gained a significant numerical advantage early on, but completely failed to convert this advantage into goals. In the 34th minute, Shaanxi's center forward Feng Boyuan received two yellow cards turning into a red and was sent off, leaving the visiting team to play with 10 men for nearly 60 minutes thereafter. Yanbian, with the加持 of home atmosphere and absolute numerical advantage, simply could not break through. In the second half, young player Cui Taixu once scored a goal, but it was ruled无效 because Wang Zihao fouled during a prior aerial contest. This was also Yanbian Longding's best chance of the entire match. Meanwhile, Shaanxi's counterattacks also posed threats to Yanbian Longding, especially a疑似 penalty in the second half, which particularly distressed the Shaanxi team.

After the match, Li Jiheng said, two consecutive home matches, two consecutive 0-0 draws, no goals scored, no victories achieved, he apologizes to the fans here. "But at the same time, I believe our players performed very well and fought very hard in both matches. We also look forward to delivering better performances in the upcoming matches."

During this critical period, especially missing Forbes

For Yanbian Longding, last season's home ground was a place of magic, but this season that magic seems to have disappeared.

This season's持续低迷 home performance forms a断崖式反差 with last season's恐怖主场统治力. Comparative data is even more startling: last season Yanbian Longding played 15 home matches total, delivering an史诗级战绩 of 13 wins, 1 draw, and 1 loss, firmly位居中甲主场积分榜头名; their first 9 home matches豪取九连胜, scoring 16 goals and conceding only 3, setting a队史最佳主场连胜纪录. It was only in the下半程主场 that they were攻陷 by the champion team of that year, Liaoning Iron Man.

At this time, Yanbian fans particularly miss the injured foreign player Forbes. In the first round match against Meizhou Hakka, Forbes suffered a ligament injury and left the field,此后就一直未能参加比赛, going abroad for treatment for a period. Actually, Yanbian's进攻难题 is caused by Forbes' absence. As the team's进攻核心, Forbes can both背身持球串联中场 and门前稳定得分,支撑起全队整套立体进攻的战术框架. His absence makes Giovanni and Huang Zhenfei feel without依靠, especially when opponents employ密集防守, the frontline瞬间失去战术核心与稳定得分点. The team's进攻杂乱无序, seemingly攻势不断,实则有效威胁寥寥无几.

Meanwhile, the heavy psychological包袱 of promotion pursuit further拖累了 Yanbian Longding players'临场发挥. This season the club has a unified goal,全力冲超, every home match is treated as a决赛、抢分战, thus players背负沉重的赢球压力,场上心态急躁、动作僵硬、出球犹豫,越急越踢不好. After久攻不下,心态失衡,传球失误增多,战术跑位频繁失位,恶性循环之下, even though战术不停调整,进攻局面始终打不开. Li Jiheng himself admitted that after战术调整,效果不佳.

After the home draw with Shaanxi United, Sun Xipeng代表全队接受采访. The记者更是直接询问: "Has your personal performance met your own expectations?" This憨厚的山东球员 answered特别诚恳: "As a forward, not scoring goals to help the team win is a失职." The 37-year-old veteran Jin Taiyan started and played 67 minutes. He赛后总结说: "好好总结,没有过不去的坎,所有人都要相信自己、相信团队,我们会完成目标的.干就完了."

After 6 rounds of the league, Yanbian Longding has accumulated 9 points,并未被冲超对手拉开差距.同时, with only two goals conceded in 6 rounds, they have the最佳防线 in the first 6 rounds of the Chinese甲级联赛. It is believed that after Forbes returns, Yanbian Longding will be able to回归正轨.