2-1! Bevis Scores Twice in Three Minutes as Wuhan Three Towns Come From Behind Against West Coast in Relegation Battle

At 19:00 on September 5, Wuhan Sports Center hosted the first kickoff of the Chinese Super League's 26th round, with Wuhan Three Towns facing Qingdao West Coast at home.

By the 22nd minute, Wuhan Three Towns had already completed the comeback.

In the 19th minute, Ming Tian delivered a diagonal cross from the right, Cadiz's header was saved by Li Hao, and Bevis followed up to score. Three minutes later, Sauer took a right-side corner, Cadiz headed at the far post, Li Hao failed to hold the save, and Bevis scored again with a sliding follow-up shot.

In just three minutes, Bevis's two follow-up finishes changed the score from 1-1 to 2-1.

At halftime, Wuhan Three Towns temporarily led Qingdao West Coast 2-1.

Davidson's 123-second strike

In the third minute, Davidson received the ball on the left side of the attacking third and cut past a defender before delivering a right-footed diagonal pass.

The ball moved extremely quickly. Aziz and Nelson-Luz failed to make contact while challenging for it, and the defenders could not clear it, allowing the ball to curl directly into the corner.

Qingdao West Coast led 1-0.

Davidson had previously played for Wuhan Three Towns for a long period, and he did not celebrate after scoring against his former club.

This was West Coast's fifth consecutive match scoring against Three Towns. The last time Three Towns kept them scoreless was June 16, 2024.

Li Hao's two handling errors

Bevis's two goals came in almost identical ways—Cadiz headed toward goal, Li Hao had trouble making the save, and Bevis followed up.

Media figure He Yu analyzed after the match: "Li Hao seemed somewhat concerned about Cadiz's headers. Both times it was Cadiz's header. Li Hao had problems controlling the ball; after hitting his arm, it also hit his abdomen. Two mistakes in a short period are very uncomfortable from a goalkeeper's perspective."

The West Coast goalkeeper's form directly shaped the direction of the first half.

Aziz's marginal offside

In the 43rd minute, Memisevic sent a 45-degree cross from the right into the box, and Aziz headed home.

Before the attack developed, Aziz had also played for Wuhan Three Towns, and he did not celebrate after scoring against his former club.

The video assistant referee intervened. West Coast players immediately gathered around, and Memisevic complained to the referee for a long time.

Three minutes later, VAR confirmed that Aziz was offside beforehand, and the goal was disallowed.

The decision left West Coast's coaching staff very dissatisfied. Huang Bowen shouted toward the match officials for a long time, while Li Leilei spread his hands in protest after the referee ruled the goal invalid. After halftime, West Coast players again surrounded the referee to argue.

A relegation battle meets an Asian qualification race

The importance of this match was reflected in both teams' points situations.

Wuhan Three Towns have played two fewer matches, with 5 wins, 9 draws and 9 losses for 19 points (after a five-point deduction at the start of the season). They rank 15th and are deep in the relegation zone, level on points with Tianjin Jinmen Tiger above them.

A 5-1 away win over direct relegation rivals Qingdao Hainiu in the previous round greatly improved Three Towns' survival situation. With this round played earlier, any points gained would temporarily lift them out of the relegation zone.

Qingdao West Coast are in a different situation. After 25 matches, they have 8 wins, 13 draws and 4 losses for 37 points, level with Beijing Guoan and Dalian Yingbo, ranking third in the CSL and pushing for an Asian competition spot.

The team coached by Zheng Zhi is unbeaten in six rounds and has lost only once in its last 21 matches, on July 11 against Shenzhen Peng City.

In the first meeting this season, Three Towns drew 1-1 away at West Coast. Three Towns have never beaten West Coast in their last four meetings, with two draws and two losses, and have never defeated them at home.

The awakening of Three Towns' attack

Bevis fulfilled his individual ability in this match.

Cadiz has scored 16 goals in 23 appearances this season, tied for third in the scoring chart, and also scored twice against Hainiu in the previous round. Sauer has four goals and two assists in his last four rounds, including one assist and two goals against Hainiu.

Before the match, Suarez used all five foreign-player slots in attack and midfield. Sauer, Bevis and Cadiz formed the attacking trio, while Adriano and Lote controlled the midfield.

Three Towns extended their record of never being shut out at home by West Coast. They have scored in their last three meetings with West Coast, the first time in club history.

West Coast's away challenge

West Coast did not field a full-strength lineup in this match.

Peng Xinli was unavailable due to an additional suspension, affecting the midfield transition from defense to attack. Resende was injured, and Zheng Zhi was suspended from directing on the sideline due to accumulated yellow cards, with Mei Fang taking over.

Ninety percent of the team's attack depends on the foreign-player trio—Nelson-Luz with 8 goals and 5 assists, Davidson with 7 goals and 4 assists, and Aziz with 5 goals and 6 assists. Davidson and Aziz both previously played for Three Towns and are familiar with their former team's defensive weaknesses.

West Coast's attacking style is clear: their defensive coordination and compact shape are among the CSL's best, conceding only 30 goals in 25 rounds, but they have scored only 29 goals and rely heavily on the foreign trio.

West Coast had 10 shots and 3 on target in the first half, with 49% possession, and were not outplayed away from home. Aziz's disallowed goal meant West Coast entered the dressing room with regret.

Behind the halftime score

At halftime, the score was 2-1. Three Towns had 9 shots and 5 on target, while West Coast had 10 shots and 3 on target.

This was a match with different motivations: one side needed a point to temporarily escape the relegation zone, while the other needed a win to stay in the race for an Asian competition place.

Suarez said before the match: "We previously always had problems failing to take our chances, but this match improved in that area and we took our opportunities."

Bevis's two follow-up goals within three minutes proved that statement.

Three Towns earned four points in two consecutive relegation battles, drawing level with Tianjin Jinmen Tiger. Within 13 days, Three Towns will face West Coast, Henan FC and Zhejiang consecutively, which will determine whether they can survive relegation.

In the second half at Wuhan Sports Center, West Coast will certainly launch a comeback.

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