First leg of 2021 S.A.C.B. play-offs ends in draw, second leg showdown imminent
In the late afternoon of December 26, the first round of the 2021 season's promotion and relegation playoff between the Central League A and Central League B came to a close. Qingdao Youth Island and Beijing Polytechnic shook hands 0:0 and failed to break the deadlock. The two teams will play the second round in the afternoon of the 30th, and the winner will get the ticket for the next season's Central League.
First round matchup, draw a foregone conclusion
In the just-concluded season of the Central League A, Xinjiang Tianshan Snow Leopard and Beijing Institute of Technology ranked 18th and 17th respectively, while in the Central League B, Guangxi Pingguo Hazhong and Qingdao Youth Island occupied the 3rd and 4th places. According to the regulations of the promotion and relegation playoffs, these four teams will play a cross two-round playoff based on their results. If the total number of goals scored by both teams is the same or neither team has scored a goal, a 15-minute extra time will be played after 90 minutes of the second round to decide the winner. If there is still a tie or no goals scored after the extra time, the winner will be decided by kicking penalty kicks against each other. The winning team will participate in the 2022 Chinese League A, while the losing team will be relegated to the 2022 Chinese League B. The final winner will play in the 2022 Chinese League A, while the losing team will be relegated to the 2022 Chinese League B.
On December 26, Qingdao Youth Island faced Beijing Polytechnic of the Central League A in the first round of the first round of the A-B promotion and relegation playoffs. At the beginning of the match, Qingdao Youth Island took the initiative on the field. In the 12th minute, Lu Yongtao sent a long pass to the penalty area, and Baidanjiang failed to put the ball into the net. At the end of the first half, both sides failed to score.
The match resumed at the end of the second half, and BIT launched a fierce attack in the second half. In the 51st minute, Geng Junyi took a direct shot from 35 meters away, Qingdao's goalkeeper Yin Depei struggled to parry the ball out, the only shot on target for both sides in the match. Afterwards, Qingdao strengthened their offense. In the 54th minute, Xue Mengtao crossed the ball from the right side of the road to the penalty area, and Baidanjiang grabbed the ball and shot at the goal, but it was confiscated by the goalkeeper. In the 57th minute, Youth Island got a free kick in front of the opponent's penalty area, Song Bo took the penalty kick and the ball flew out of the goal line against the crossbar. In the 59th minute, Li Guihao's header from Song Bo's cross went wide. In the 88th minute, Tian Yong hit the ball over the bar after a penalty corner. In the end, Youth Island drew 0:0 with NIT.
Confidence is high for the second round showdown
After the match, Qingdao Youth Island head coach Zhou Xin was not surprised by the first round draw, "We are not unfamiliar with Beijing Polytechnic. The two teams were rivals in the same group last year in the Sino-B Luxi Division, and in the end, they advanced with excellent results and qualified for this year's Sino-A League. I watched the final stage of this season's Beijing Polytechnic League, they do not have foreign aid, the whole Chinese class to play in the League is still not bad strength and level, may be a little less lucky. Before the match, I warned the players that they should not take the opponent lightly just because they are a lower-ranked team in the Central League, and that they still have a certain advantage when it comes to the promotion and relegation playoffs, because after all, they are a Central League team with 34 matches of experience, and their pace of play and technical and tactical skills are really stronger than ours. After we finished the match in the Central League B and League A, we hadn't played any official match for 35 days before this match. Today's game process also confirms this point, despite the field we dominate the initiative, the previous training also made careful preparation, but still lack in grasping the opportunity."
However, Zhou Xin is still full of confidence for the second round of the duel, "After the first round of the game, we have a full understanding of the opponent's situation, the duel on the 30th is the common goal of our whole team. The only worry now is Li Kai's injury, the game in the 74th minute to replace him, originally intended to take the game in the final stage, after all, Li Kai in this season's second league scored 14 goals, is the entire league to enter the first group of the most goals. Unfortunately, Li Kai was injured in the 88th minute and had to be replaced, as for the injury, it depends on the hospital's examination results."
Qingdao Youth Island FC will enter the second division in 2020 and stand on the threshold of the first division in only two seasons. Xu Shang, the investor of the team, is full of confidence in the first division, "I just want to inspire the team to cross the threshold of the first division, and add to Qingdao's soccer city," I've already prepared the bonus of 2 million yuan for the first division, and I look forward to the team's success in the first division on the 30th. Although the youth island club was founded only four years ago, the scale is small, in the domestic professional soccer circle presence is not so strong, but this time the youth island is on behalf of Qingdao, we want to in front of the national fans to show the strength and heritage of the soccer city, so that Qingdao once again to realize the double of the Central League is our only goal."
