Match Report
37 points separated the sides: Qingdao West Coast 2nd on 61, Jiangxi Liansheng 16th on 24. The last five rounds placed Jiangxi Lushan 10th in the league for form — higher than their 16th in the standings. Scoring rates set the scale: Qingdao West Coast 1.47 scored and 0.73 conceded per game, Jiangxi Liansheng 0.97 and 1.5, with the league averaging 1.13.
Qingdao West Coast carried a 13-game unbeaten run into this. Defeat had followed defeat for Jiangxi Liansheng — five in succession. The five-game form split read 9/15 points for Qingdao West Coast against 0/15 for Jiangxi Liansheng.
Qingdao Tiantai Stadium in Qingdao, capacity 45,000, hosted the game. On the scoreboard, it was 0-0 at the break; 1 second-half goal set the final 1-0.