Fox in the Penalty Area

With a 4:2 home victory over the South China Sea team and the momentum of becoming the number one in the league, on Thursday, August 3, four days later, the flashing star went north to challenge Capital Athletic in an away game.

Even though it was an away game, even though it was a double match in a week, and even though Zhao Kangming had rotated the lineup, Flash Star, who had just played "the best game of the year in China's First Division" (media language), still defeated Capital Athletic 2-0 in the away game .

Three days later, on Sunday, Shining Star returned to the home court to usher in the 16th-ranked Tangdu Kowloon. This team was also a second-tier team last season. After being promoted to the first-tier league, its performance has fluctuated. It is currently ranked sixteenth, and its goal is to avoid relegation.

Speaking of which, this team is still from Chen Xingyi's hometown - Chen Xingyi is from Tangdu, Nanhe Province.

I don't know if it's because of fellow villagers seeing fellow villagers, but Chen Xingyi was very active in this game.

He scored twice for the first time after joining Flash Star, and also the first double in his career.

The narrators of Nanhe Satellite TV were very helpless: "No wonder they all said, 'When I see my fellow, I have tears in my eyes'. It turned out that I was beaten by my fellow..."

Hu Lai also scored a goal in this game. He himself scored 14 goals in the league this season and still leads the league scorer list.

Currently ranked second in the scorer list is Ning Tianyong's foreign striker, Ivar Moses. Frenchman, twenty-eight years old. He played in the Chinese Super League last season in Yongan. Although his performance was mediocre, he is still a striker with experience in the Chinese Super League.

Moses, who performed mediocrely in the Chinese Super League, came to the Chinese Premier League. He originally had a mentality of reducing dimensionality and attacking. In fact, he does feel better in front of the goal of the Chinese League One than in the Chinese Super League. Before Hu Lai made his efforts, he had always been the top scorer in the league.

However, this good feeling disappeared with Hu Lai's continuous goals in the league.

Hu Lai scored a hat-trick in the game against the South China Sea team, surpassing Moses who had scored ten goals at that time, became the top scorer in the league, and extended his lead to three goals at once.

Now it is leading by as many as four goals.

The Chinese Super League shooter who was hit by dimensionality reduction came to the Chinese League One, but he was not Hu Lai's opponent.

This performance has to make people place more expectations on Hu Lai's future-if Flash Star succeeds in the Super League this season, what performance can Hu Lai show in the Super League next season?

Will it continue to set off a youth storm in the Super League, or will it encounter a belated "rookie wall" in the Super League?

Everyone is looking forward to it, but also apprehensive.

※※※

When Chen Mo came to Zhao Kangming's office, he found that he was looking at the schedule on the tablet computer.

"Why are you in a daze?" He leaned over to take a look, "The next game against Nan'an Jinpeng is also relegated from the Chinese Super League. Their performance is far from that of Ning Tianyong'an. It's over if they play normally?"

"No, I'm watching the next game." Zhao Kangming shook his head.

"The next game?" Chen Mo moved his gaze down one frame, "Oh, the Football Association Cup... Do you have any ideas, Old Zhao?"

Generally speaking, with the thickness of the flashing star lineup, if you want to succeed in the Super League, you should decisively give up the FA Cup.

But the luck of the flashing stars this season is a bit good. In the first few rounds of the FA Cup, they encountered opponents who were obviously weaker than their own. For the second-tier teams, by the fifth round, most of the first-tier teams would be eliminated one after another. As a result, Shining Star met the biggest dark horse in the FA Cup this season, Dongtai Juxing City, an amateur team!

How do you give up on this? Is Flashing Star going to be eliminated by the amateur team? Then this is too fake.

So just like that, Shining Star went all the way to the quarter-finals in the FA Cup.

Then when they come back to their senses, they will see that in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, they are the only Chinese A team, and the other seven teams are all from the Chinese Super League...

In the fifth round of the FA Cup, when they face amateur teams, they have a double advantage in psychology and strength.

Now it's their turn to experience the feelings of Dongtai Juxing City at that time.

"What do you think should be done?" Zhao Kangming didn't answer Chen Mo, but asked back.

Chen Mo spread his hands: "There is nothing else to think about. It is impossible for us to win the FA Cup. It is already the only seedling in the Chinese Premier League who can reach the quarter-finals. If you don't give up at this time, when are you waiting? Losing to the Chinese Super League The team is not wronged. Then we can concentrate on playing in the league and strive to secure the two spots for the Super League early."

Zhao Kangming nodded after listening: "It makes sense."

Chen Mo smiled: "Isn't this a choice that most people would make, what's the matter?"

"But I have another bold idea, Lao Chen, do you want to hear it?"

Chen Mo pulled a chair and sat down: "All ears."

Seeing him like this, Zhao Kangming smiled: "Old Chen, how high do you think our chances of surpassing this season are?"

Chen Mo didn't expect Zhao Kangming to ask him the question first. He frowned and thought for a while: "I dare not say 100%, but I think it's more than 60%. As long as we don't make mistakes, as long as we don't have a lot of injuries in the second half of the season Illness...especially those boys who remain healthy and in good condition, I think the chances are still very high."

The current situation of the league points is like this. After 16 rounds of the league, Shining Star has 11 wins, 4 draws and 1 loss. With 37 points, it ranks first in the league standings.

Lingnan Nanhai lost to Shining Star in the away game, and then lost to Chongshan in the south of Sichuan at home. They suffered a two-game losing streak in the league and are currently ranked second with 34 points.

The third place is Chuannan Chongshan with 32 points, followed closely behind.

The fourth place is Ning Tianyongan, who was relegated from the Chinese Super League last season. Their only goal this season is to return to the Chinese Super League. They currently have 30 points.

Xiaojiang Green Forest ranked fifth with 29 points, and Meiling Ranger with 28 points ranked sixth.

This is the case of the top six in the league, and the six teams most likely to surpass.

The top two in the Chinese Premier League can be promoted directly, without having to play relegation play-offs with any relegated Chinese Super League team, which is a bit like a one-shot deal.

So as long as they can ensure that the third place will not overtake them, Shining Star will be able to get the promotion quota.

Looking at it now, Shining Star is five points ahead of the third place in Chuannan Chongshan in terms of points, which is not a small difference.

But considering the long second half of the season, it is still too early to say whether to upgrade or not.

Just like last season.

When Flash Star played seventeen rounds in the league, they were still ranked fourteenth, and there was almost no hope of promotion.

As a result, the rankings went up all the way, and the highest came to the ninth place. Just when everyone thought that the team would continue to rise like this, and then wrestled with the top four teams to see if they could hit the Super League spot.

Qin Lin's injury changed everything, and the team's performance began to decline again.

After a season was over, Flash Star ranked thirteenth, which was one rank higher than their ranking at the end of the first half of the league.

A lot happened in that half-season.

Then who can guarantee that there will be no more colorful, twisted and bizarre stories in the remaining 18 league rounds of this season?

That's why Chen Mo added a lot of attributes to say that he thinks the prospects of the team's promotion are quite optimistic.

After listening to Chen Mo's analysis, Zhao Kangming still nodded, thinking that Chen Mo was right.

"Old Chen, have you ever thought about what we will do if we successfully upgrade?"

"Where did I think about that? What do I want to do so far away?" Chen Mo spread his hands.

"I've thought about it." Zhao Kangming said, "especially after seeing the performance of the two teams, Hexi Daqin and Capital Xiangyun after they were promoted... Hexi Daqin is still struggling on the verge of relegation, but Capital Xiangyun I feel that they have already booked in advance. The season's China League One spot is up. Do you think if we succeed in being promoted, next year's Chinese Super League, we will return early to the China League One?"

Chen Mo didn't answer this question because he didn't know how to answer it.

Zhao Kangming didn't need his answer either. He continued and shook his head: "I don't really want to be like this. I finally got promoted. Of course, I want to stay in the Super League and not fall down. It takes a few years to gain a firm foothold." , and then seek something bigger... That's what I think. We don't go to the Chinese Super League to watch a circle, and then come back after learning a lot, and come to the Chinese Super League to brag. Say that we have seen the Chinese Super League, and the games of the Chinese Super League are still Is there anything I can't handle? But I really can't handle it...Look at Nan'an Jinpeng, as our opponent in the next round, what kind of dog is it? went……"

Zhao Kangming babbled, and Chen Mo listened quietly, because he knew that what Lao Zhao wanted to tell him was in these babbles.

"Flash Star is a good team, and the club's management is rarely tolerant. If you just go to the Chinese Super League for a year and fall down, I feel sorry for the club for so many years of tempering in the second and first divisions. Now that you have gone up, Then stand firm." Zhao Kangming made a chopping motion, "So I think, with the current situation of our team, let's try it out and see if we have the capital to gain a foothold in the Chinese Super League."

Old partner Chen Mo had already guessed what Zhao Kangming was thinking, and he asked bluntly, "Are you going to use the Football Association Cup to try?"

Zhao Kangming nodded: "That's right. This is the only chance for us to play against the Chinese Super League team. Nan'an Jinpeng and Ning Tian Yong'an are not considered Chinese Super League teams, and a hairless Phoenix is ​​not as good as a chicken. The real Chinese Super League team is our team. The opponents in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup are Haihe Shuanggang. They are currently in the middle of the Chinese Super League. As a veteran Chinese Super League team, they are a suitable opponent. If we lose, we can also know where we lost, so that we can win Then make targeted training and adjustments, and the signings after the end of the season will also be more purposeful."

"Then what if we win? What if we make it to the semi-finals?" Chen Mo asked.

"Then keep trying and try out our limits. The Chinese Super League teams we met in the semi-finals are basically top-ranked teams. Even if we are eliminated by then, it doesn't matter. How about it, Lao Chen, What do you think of my bold idea?"

Chen Mo shook his head: "I think you already have the answer, even if I say it's not good, you probably still do it."

"That won't work, we are partners, we always have to unify our thinking."

"I have no opinion on the trial and error of finding a Chinese Super League team in the FA Cup. I just think, aren't you afraid of affecting the league?"

"It doesn't matter, the FA Cup is a single-elimination system, unless we can reach the final... But to be honest, I think the hope is pretty slim. And I checked the schedule, the FA Cup quarter-finals and semi-finals are in the eighth It's over in a month, and it's just one more game at most. It doesn't have much impact on the league..."

Chen Mo shook his head: "No, I'm not talking about the schedule. I'm saying that if we decide to go all out in the FA Cup against the Chinese Super League team, then we may give up a few league games. Let's take the next match with Nan'an Jinpeng Let’s talk about the game, do we have to give up? Will it affect our ranking in the league? In addition, after the game against Haihe Shuanggang, will the team’s physical fitness and state be affected? Will this influence continue to the next round of the league, our match against Kunyang City?"

"You're right, Old Chen, that's why I have to discuss it with you, because you will consider this matter from your perspective, and different perspectives can ensure that we will not make mistakes when making decisions." Zhao Kangming was not unhappy because of Chen Mo's long objection, but not only praised Chen Mo, but also patiently explained to him.

"But I have calculated carefully just now. Even if it affects certain games, we can afford such a price. Also take the FA Cup with Haihe Shuanggang as an example. I have carefully studied Nan'an Jinpeng's performance in my own For the performance at home, I think even if we use a rotation lineup, we can at least guarantee that we will not lose the game away. In this way, our main lineup can be used to deal with Haihe Shuanggang. And the game against Haihe Shuanggang is our home game , We don’t need to move anymore after flying back from Nan’an, and our physical strength has been guaranteed. After the FA Cup, although we played away against Kunyang City in the league, Kunyang City’s strength is also very weak, and we can still use rotation Play with the lineup, even if you can't win, you won't lose.

"Even if we get two consecutive draws in the league and the ranking drops from first to second, we can still continue to lead the third-placed Chuannan Chongshan. If we are eliminated from the FA Cup, we can put all Concentrate on the league. For the remaining ten rounds of the league, I believe that with our ability, the league championship is hard to say, but we should still be sure to keep the top two in the league."

After listening to Zhao Kangming's entire analysis, Chen Mo raised his hands: "You have considered all aspects, and I have no opinion. You can give it a try according to your ideas."

Zhao Kangming asked him with a smile: "Then...do it?"

Chen Mo nodded: "Fuck!"

Zhao Kangming let out a long breath: "Play Jinpeng away, let Chen Xingyi, Qin Lin, and Li Tielin rest. Let Shi Junde start in the midfielder position, play double midfielders with Ma Wenyi, and only have Hu Lai in the front line. Single-arrow tactics, the focus is on controlling the midfield. As long as we can control the midfield, even if we can’t win, we shouldn’t lose.”

Chen Mo wrote down all the staff adjustments, nodded and said, "OK."

※※※

Three days later, Nan'an Jinpeng's home court, Nan'an City Stadium, was booed everywhere.

Amidst the boos, a figure descended from the sky in the corner flag area where the Jinpeng team was located. Standing firmly on the turf with both legs, he showed the jersey number and name behind him to the camera lens.

The commentator of Anton Satellite TV shouted hoarsely: "Hu Lai!! The goal in the 72nd minute, he helped Flash Star lead Nan'an Jinpeng 1-0 in the away game! Director Zhao Kangming arranged for Hu Lai in this game Lai started the game and didn't let him take a rest, so he seemed to have expectations for him... and now Hu Lai repays Zhao Kangming's trust and support for him with this goal!!"

In front of the visiting team's coaching bench, Zhao Kangming shook his head at Chen Mo and said, "I really didn't expect him to score... There are not many chances in this game..."

Chen Mo smiled: "Isn't that good, Lao Zhao? We spent a long time there thinking about this and that... What happened? Hu Lai made all our calculations useless! If we If you can score three points in the away game, you don’t have to consider the impact of the FA Cup on the league..."

Zhao Kangming nodded: "That's right. Hu Lai helped us get the lead. Now we need to think about how to keep this lead."