On Friday morning, a tense warm-up match before the play-offs took place between Zhejiang and the up-and-coming Zhejiang U21s. In this match, Zhejiang won 2:0, with Gao Di and Shao Renzhe as the heroes of the match. It is worth mentioning that Zhejiang team also seized a penalty kick opportunity, but Aisha Jiang's shot was saved by the opponent's goalkeeper. Shao Renzhe's header was particularly good, fully reflecting the young talent's current good state of play.
In fact, on the eve of the play-offs, how to pick the opponents for the warm-up matches is undoubtedly a big problem for the Zhejiang team after the end of the Central League. After the end of the league, many teams in the Central League have been on vacation, while the Super League teams are still fighting in the league battlefield, which makes it difficult for the Zhejiang team to find a suitable opponent. The coaching staff believed that it was difficult to maintain the team's status through training alone, so Zhejiang decided to play this warm-up match with Zhejiang U21 team. The team was formed on the basis of the Zhejiang U20 team, which won the National Games, and they will appear in the warm-up match as a simulated play-off opponent.
"Our task was to be a good accompaniment, on the one hand, to help the first team familiarize themselves with the atmosphere of the play-offs, so that they could quickly find solutions when they were challenged. For example, I changed my tactics during the game, dispatching a high center forward at times and executing a defensive counterattack at others, all of which are possible situations to be encountered in the play-offs." Xu Lei, Head Coach of Zhejiang U21 Team, said, "Although we can't compare with the Chinese Super League players in terms of individual ability, our young players will try their best to simulate the environment of the play-offs in order to help the first team to better prepare for the two play-offs."
Cheng Jin was unable to participate in this warm-up match due to an injury sustained in recent training. "The injury is recovering well and there is no problem to participate in the additional matches." Cheng Jin said confidently, "I will definitely give my best in the face of such an important match. The team is united at the moment and we are fully prepared for the two-legged play-off."
In this warm-up match, two foreigners, Mu Xiekui and Frank, did not appear. Mushiqui was injured before the final round of the league, while Frank was strained in the league. Mu Xiekui watched the game from the sidelines in his tracksuit, while Frank did not appear on the pitch. A team staff member revealed, "Both foreigners have serious injuries and Jordy can't use them for the time being. Now they are racing against time, it is not known whether they can come back from injuries in the play-offs." The biggest wish of the Zhejiang team is that Mu Xiekui and Frank can recover as soon as possible and debut in the best condition for the play-offs.
