Meizhou Hekai took a narrow victory over Dongguan United in League One's regular season round 18, winning 3:2 at home on Friday evening. V. Triboulet accounted for both of his side's first goals, converting two penalties, before H. Luo added a third from open play. Dongguan pulled one back through H. Liu and then Chang Feiya struck in stoppage time, but the visitors could not find an equaliser.
And here's the thing about Triboulet — he made his presence felt from the spot early and again after the break. His first penalty came in the fourteenth minute, a clinical finish that gave Meizhou the lead they would protect for most of the game. By the time he struck his second in the sixty-fifth, the home side were comfortable enough to sit back and manage the game.
Dongguan's response was urgent. Luo's goal in the seventy-seventh minute brought them within a single goal, and suddenly the match had a pulse again. The visitors threw bodies forward, and by then the defensive shape of Meizhou had to hold firm under pressure. Three yellow cards in the closing stages told the story of nerves — Triboulet, Liu Zongyuan, and Su Jiale all received bookings as the game tightened.
Two minutes into stoppage time H. Liu equalised, and for a moment the result seemed to be slipping away. Then Chang Feiya struck four minutes later to complete the turnaround — a dramatic exchange that left Meizhou needing one more moment to survive. The home side held on, and the three points remained despite what looked like a late collapse.
Both teams sit on twelve points after twenty-two matches, Meizhou in fifteenth and Dongguan in sixteenth. The gap between them is minimal, and this result means the home side have pulled a fraction ahead in the fight to avoid the drop. Recent form has been difficult for both — Meizhou lost their last two, Dongguan have won just twice all season — but victories like this are the kind that shift momentum.