Dongguan United hosted Shenzhen Juniors in League One's Regular Season round 21 on Friday evening, and the visitors took all three points with a 2-1 win. R. Dugalic gave Shenzhen the lead before half-time and added a second just after the break, while R. Antwi pulled one back for the hosts late on. The result keeps Shenzhen in second place but does little to ease Dongguan's slide down the table.
Dugalic opened the scoring in the 42nd minute, and he doubled his tally before the interval in the 45th — and here's the thing, two goals in as many minutes is enough to turn a game on its head. Antwi reduced the deficit in the 62nd minute, but by then Shenzhen had planted their feet and refused to let the hosts back in. The visitors kept their heads when Dongguan threw bodies forward, and that discipline cost the hosts dearly.
There were no red cards, but the referee did not hold back with yellows. Gan Xianhao picked up the first in the 38th minute, followed by Qian Yumiao just before half-time, Shi Liang in the 55th, Lin Zefeng in the 73rd and Zhou Xin deep into stoppage time. The book was full by the final whistle, and to be fair, the intensity never dropped below a certain level.
Substitutions came thick and fast in the second half, with both managers trying to shift momentum. Gan Xianhao was replaced in the 46th minute, Li Ruiyue came on in the 52nd, and then a flurry of changes in the 75th hour saw N. Benavides, G. Yu, Lin Zefeng and Su Yuliang all enter the fray. Liu Xiaolong and Xu Yue followed later, but the damage was already done.
Dongguan sit 16th with 11 points from 21 games — two wins, five draws, 14 losses — while Shenzhen are second on 39 points with 11 victories, six draws and four defeats. The hosts have not won in five matches, losing four of those and drawing once, whereas Shenzhen are unbeaten in five. A fourth straight win for the visitors would have been nice, but this was enough to keep them within touching distance of the leaders.