Match Report
On paper the standings were lopsided — Shanghai Shenhua 8th with 31 points, Qingdao Hainiu 16th with 14, 17 apart. Shanghai Shenhua had been over-performing their table position on recent form: 4th in the league over the last five rounds against 8th overall. In league terms the two rates read 1.31/2.04 for Qingdao Hainiu and 2/1.77 for Shanghai Shenhua (scored/conceded per game); the competition average is 1.55.
Defeat had followed defeat for Qingdao Hainiu — five in succession. Qingdao Hainiu had banked 0 of the last 15 points on offer; Shanghai Shenhua, 6.
9 meetings are on record — 0 won by Qingdao Hainiu, 9 by Shanghai Shenhua, 0 drawn, at 2.33 goals per meeting. The pattern favours whoever hosts: home teams have won 67% of the meetings. The fixture trends low-scoring: over two goals in just 22% of the meetings.
P. Gao took charge of the match — our records show 35 games refereed with an average of 0.9 yellow cards per game. Qingdao Tiantai Stadium, capacity 45,000, hosted the game. On the scoreboard, it was 0-0 at the break; 1 second-half goal set the final 0-1.
Goal scorers
Shanghai Shenhua: Haoyang Xu (54')
Key stats
Possession: Qingdao Hainiu 51% · Shanghai Shenhua 49% · Total shots: 15-13 · On target: 1-6 · Corners: 6-6