Match Report
10 points and 5 places separated them: Qingdao West Coast 4th with 38, Shanghai Shenhua 9th with 28. On the form table Shanghai Shenhua stood 3rd over the last five rounds, despite being 9th overall. Scoring rates set the scale: Qingdao West Coast 1.19 scored and 1.23 conceded per game, Shanghai Shenhua 1.96 and 1.8, with the league averaging 1.55.
Defeat had not touched Qingdao West Coast in 10 games, having scored in 7 consecutive games. A win had eluded Shanghai Shenhua for 6 matches. Qingdao West Coast had banked 9 of the last 15 points on offer; Shanghai Shenhua, 2.
The head-to-head ledger counts 5 games: 0 Qingdao West Coast wins, 5 for Shanghai Shenhua, 0 draws, at 3 goals per meeting. History points to goals: 60% of the meetings had three or more.
The venue was Qingdao Sports Center Guoxin Stadium, with room for 45,000 spectators. Half-time and full-time told different stories: it was 1-1 at the break, before 2 more goals closed it at 2-2.
Goal scorers
Qingdao West Coast: Abdul Aziz Yakubu (45'), Davidson (49') · Shanghai Shenhua: Xi Wu (2'), Chenjie Zhu (73')
Key stats
Possession: Qingdao West Coast 56% · Shanghai Shenhua 44% · Total shots: 10-8 · On target: 3-3 · Corners: 6-3