On November 26th, Beijing time, in the second leg of the semi-finals of the 2009 China Football League, Hubei Green team successfully obtained the qualification for the 2010 season of the China League One by beating Hangzhou Sanchao team 1-0 with a penalty goal by Chen Hao in the 20th minute. After experiencing the pain of withdrawal in the 2008 season, Hubei football returned to the Chinese professional football league in just one year.
At the beginning of the season, the Hubei Football Association formed the Hubei Green Football Club with the original Wuhan Guanggu U19 team as the main body to participate in the 2009 national football league, with the aim of enabling Hubei football to reappear on the map of Chinese football in a short period of time.
On May 9th, 2009, the Chinese Football League opened, and the Hubei Green team made its first away game in Guiyang against Guizhou Zhicheng team. Due to the away game, Coach Li Jun of Hubei team arranged a defensive counter-attack tactic. After withstanding the opponent's attack in the first half, Hubei team's counter-attack was effective in the second half. In the 10th minute of the second half, Meng Wei, No. 8 of Hubei Green team, scored with a shot after receiving the ball on the wing. Thereafter, both sides entered a tense state, and Hubei Green team maintained the 1-0 score until the end of the game.
On May 16th, Hubei Green team continued to play an away game against the same-city rival Sanda Kangtian team. Although it was nominally an away game, Sanda Kangtian's home field Xianning is only 60 kilometers away from Wuhan, so it didn't matter whether it was home or away for both sides. In the 42nd minute of the first half, Hubei Green team got a corner kick opportunity. After the ball was kicked out, a player on the left side of the goal headed the ball to the right side, Cai Xi completed an air relay and headed the ball into the far corner. The goalkeeper Xia Yong of Sanda Kangtian team could only watch the ball helplessly. The score on the field was 1-0. In the 65th minute of the second half, Sanda Kangtian team launched an attack, and Hubei Green team countered quickly after intercepting the ball. Chai Lei, No. 28, scored with a powerful shot after receiving a pass from his teammate on the left side in the penalty area. Despite goalkeeper Xia Yong's diving save, it was still ineffective. Hubei Green team led 2-0. Subsequently, neither side had the strength to change the score. In the end, Sanda Kangtian team, playing at home, had to accept the bitter fruit of two consecutive defeats, while Hubei Green team also welcomed their two consecutive victories.
On June 20th, Hubei Green team finally welcomed their first home game, against Ningbo Huao team. Although the ranking of the opponent was lower than theirs, Hubei Green team still did not dare to be careless. In the 20th minute of the second half, Hubei Green team got a free kick opportunity on the left side of the opponent's penalty area. Chen Hao's shot hit the hand of Ningbo team's wall, and referee Song Wenfeng blew his whistle and pointed to the penalty spot. Zhou Liao, No. 14 of Hubei Green team, shot towards the right side of the goal, and Gao Shuchun, the goalkeeper of Ningbo Huao team, correctly judged and saved the ball, but he still failed to stop the ball from entering the net. The score on the field became 1-0. Thereafter, the game between the two sides became more intense, but Ningbo team was unable to catch up with the score. Hubei Green team took the lead in the points table with a 9-point advantage.
On June 27th, Hubei Green team continued to play at home against Hunan Xiangtao team, which was the strongest opponent Hubei team had encountered this time. In the end, both sides drew 0-0. After the game, the fans at the scene shouted loudly for Coach Li Jun of the Green team to step down, and Li Jun also felt wronged. He thought that the team did not perform well enough in this game, but they did not lose either. The team was still at the top of the points table, so it was hard to understand why he should step down.
On August 15th, Hubei Green team went east to Wenzhou to challenge Mingri team. Since the opponent was relatively weak, Green team won big with four goals by Yuan Mingcan, Cai Xi, Chen Hao, and Kong Linglong, thus further consolidating their position as leader.
On August 22nd, after returning home, Hubei Green team played against Guizhou Zhicheng team, whom they had beaten in the first round. Perhaps because of the hot weather, both sides played rather dull and boring, and the game ended in a 0-0 draw.
On August 29th, Hubei team once again faced a derby match, and this time the Green team, playing at home, defeated Sanda Kangtian 3-0. In the 73rd minute, a long-lost figure appeared on the sidelines - Zhang Bin stood outside the field, replacing Wang Wenhua who wore No. 7. The audience gave him a warm applause. Fans pinned more hopes on this old No. 10 player of Wuhan team, and Zhang Bin's appearance on the field did not disappoint the fans' expectations. Just one minute after coming on, during an offensive move, a long-range shot by the Green team was saved by goalkeeper Wang Yu, but Zhang Bin followed up and scored with a rebound shot, making the score 1-0 for the Green team. In the 90th minute, Yuan Mingcan, No. 36 who came on in the second half, broke through on the left and passed the ball into the penalty area. Song Xia, No. 16 who performed very actively in this game, struck powerfully, and the ball flew straight to the far corner of the goal, making the score 2-0. Already uninterested in continuing the fight, Sanda Kangtian let Zhou Liao break through in the stoppage time. Zhou Liao dodged past goalkeeper Wang Yu in the penalty area and pushed the ball into the empty net from a small angle.
On September 5th, Hubei Green team played an away game against Ningbo Huao team, who were ranked last. Zhou Liao's goal in the opening minute made the game result certain. At that time, Ningbo Huao's goalkeeper Gao Shuchun made a mistake in throwing the ball, and the ball was directly intercepted by Wang Wenhua outside the penalty area. Wang Wenhua then shot smoothly, and Gao Shuchun dropped the ball. Zhou Liao followed up quickly and scored with a rebound shot, making Hubei Green team unexpectedly take the lead 1-0. Thereafter, despite no goals being scored by either side, Hubei team was unexpectedly sent to the championship of the Southern Zone ahead of schedule due to the unexpected loss of their competitor Hunan Xiangtao.
On September 12th, Hubei Green team, who had already secured the championship of the Southern Zone, went south to Changsha to challenge Hunan Xiangtao team. In the final moments of the game, the Green team scored a goal, but it was ruled offside by the referee and the goal was disallowed. In the end, both sides shook hands and agreed to a 0-0 draw.
On September 26th, the last round of the preliminary stage of the Chinese Football League. Hubei Green team beat Wenzhou Mingri team 3-1 at home. Unfortunately, the goal conceded by Hubei team was the first goal conceded in this year's league.
After the preliminary stage ended, Coach Li Jun of Hubei Green team said: "Through the competition of the preliminary stage, the team has discovered its own problems. As long as these problems are solved, the team will definitely perform well in the final stage." Indeed, in the decisive battle for promotion held on November 24th and 26th, Hubei Green team defeated Hangzhou Sanchao team with an absolute advantage, thus returning to the Chinese professional football league in just one year.
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