Squeaking By
Another Chinese FA Cup Thriller
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Squeaking By
I really thought we were going to lose this one.
Shenzhen FC is an excellent club, and played quite well against us. Pietro Rovaglia scored two goals in the first 40 minutes, but Nathan Redmond came back with one for Shenzhen. We went to halftime with a precarious one goal lead.
Redmond then scored in the 74th minute, tying the match and making me worry for our future in the competition.
Thankfully, Jeong Sang-Bin scored as part of an excellent counterattack in the 83rd minute. I thought he was offside, but I didn’t say anything.
We dominated in terms of match stats, but we simply couldn’t put them away. Zhu Bin had a particularly poor game, and should probably spend a bit more time on the bench.
Mueanta, who demanded more game time from me just a few days before this match, had one of the worst games of his career, and seemed to not even show up. Jeong Sang-Bin came on to substitute for him.
A win is a win, but sometimes even a win gets you worried.
Month In Review
It’s hard to believe, but we’re in December already.
Our finances are looking okay. We haven’t had any more sudden injections of cash from Chairman Guo, sadly. I did ask the board for more money in the transfer budget, but am not convinced that we will get it.
Our performance analysts reported that we’ve got the best attacking record in the First Division, which isn’t a huge surprise. The only real problem we have is our shots on target ratio, which is only 38.37%. I think this is mostly due to my policy of using young and inexperienced players who have a hard time aiming. Our 84% pass completion ratio is also a bit low. Everything else is extremely high.
I also won Manager of the Month after going undefeated in November.
We’re doing well, but we also shouldn’t get complacent. The good teams in this division are just as good as we are, and I still feel that we’ve got a bit more work to do before we can really compete with the Chinese Super League sides.
Instead of giving us a cash injection, Chairman Guo gave me a report card. He seems indifferent about our match performance and transfers, and is still upset that we were eliminated from the Conference League. However, he thinks things are going well in general, and is particularly happy with our Chinese FA Cup success.
The supporters are still upset about my transfers. They’ll have to get used to it.
Dynamics in the squad are still looking good. Rovaglia, Wade, Pak Myong-Song, and Cashin are our most influential players. I think Pak Myong-Song and Cashin will likely be classified as team leaders before too long. Rovaglia will probably reach those heights as well if he keeps scoring goals for fun.
Heilongjiang Ice City
If there’s any part of China colder than Yanbian, it’s Heilongjiang Province. We’re favorites to win this away match, though we’ll need to put out a good performance to see them off.
The media is excited because Chen Wei, another former goaltender signing who didn’t play a game for us, is starting in goal for Heilongjiang.
Chen Wei is 25 years old and really isn’t an awful keeper. I think he was our third choice keeper on the first team for some time last year. We couldn’t give him game time, though — certainly not with the far superior Liu Shaoziyang and Li Changyi on the team.
My transfer record thus far has been pretty spotty, and this is a good example of why. We bought Chen Wei for 4 million RMB from Shanghai Port, and then proceeded to lose him to Heilongjiang on a free transfer a few months later. I probably could have handled that one better.
If it’s any consolation, though, our scouts think that he would be an awful signing. He is consistent and likes big matches, but he doesn’t have the ability needed to be part of our team.
Anyway, I think we’ll win this one.
New to the series? Missed a few articles? Come catch up here!