Romaldo's hat-trick soliloquy offered a double victory for the Shandong Luneng of the Chinese football league and the cup titles, recorded an astonishing come-back 3-2 win over Dalian Wanda at the final of the League Cup in Jinan of Shandong Province on Sunday.

Shandong became the first team to wrap up a title double in the league and the cup championships, which had the sixth season called off last weekend.

After a 4-0 thrash of bottom team Wuhan Heart K in the final game last weekend, Shandong edged off Liaoning Fushun, who were held a 1-1 draw in Beijing by Guo'an, by just one point to win the league championship for the first time.

Sunday's clash with Wanda was predicted as a one-sided match as Wanda, winners of the 1997-98 season, which escaped relegation after the closing win last Sunday, were no longer on the same level as the much-improving Shandong.

But it was Wanda who opened the mark in the return game when striker Wang Peng scored in the 28th minutes to give Wanda a 2-1 lead on aggregate.

The Uruguayan striker put the home team ahead with two goals in the 72nd and 81st minutes to shoot Shandong into the driving seat.

But Wanda almost turned the table around with Swede Peter's strike five minutes later and the northeast city team seemed to pocket the trophy on away goals rule.

The unbelievable Romaldo threw the stadium into ecstasy when he scored the winner two minutes into the injury time to give Shandong the most amazing victory of the tournament.

"We did not come out in the first half," Shandong's head coach Slobodan Santrac said. "But Romaldo was the hero and he inspired the team to fight for the honor."

Wanda's head coach Milorad Kosanovic said, "We deserved the victory but the God of Luck was on their side. I believe we could make it next time." (Xinhua)