Soccer coverage
exclusive report
-- On December 26, the first match of the Central A and Central B playoffs was held in Meizhou, where Qingdao Qingdao, ranked fourth in the Central B, and BeiTech drew 0-0 in a thrilling battle.
Looking back at the 2021 season, Qingdao Youth Island had a good performance in the Second Division League, with 8 wins, 2 draws and 4 losses in 14 matches in Group C, accumulating 26 points to secure the third place in the group, and advancing to the top eight of the First Division Group with excellent results. In the first division, the team even ranked fourth in the group with 5 wins, 7 draws and 2 losses, accumulating 22 points, and successfully qualified for the play-offs.
According to the system, Qingdao Youth Island will challenge the bottom two teams in the Central League in the play-offs, and BeiTech is the unfortunate opponent.
Qingdao Youth Island is feeling the pressure of the upcoming play-offs. The Central League has just ended, and North Polytechnic has been able to continue its form, while the last time Youth Island played was on November 21st, more than a month apart.
To meet the challenge, Qingdao Youth Island took a week's vacation right after the league ended, and then quickly went into training. on December 7, the team traveled south to Guangdong, adapting to the climate and environment of Meizhou in advance.
It is worth mentioning that Xu Shang, the investor of Qingdao Youth Island and chairman of Qingdao Zhongchuang Hengtai Group, boosted morale at the pep rally and promised a 2 million dollar bonus for reaching the first division, highlighting the team's determination.
Prior to the match, the injury situation on the island of youth was relatively ideal, with only Sun Jiangshan unable to play due to a leg injury, which constituted a major blow to the team.
In the starting lineup, Youth Island fielded Yin Depui in goal; Wang Xingqiang, Tian Yong, and Wang Long in the backline; Song Bo, Liao Jiajun, Chen Arty, Xue Mentao, Buerdanjiang, and Li Guihao competing in the midfield; and Lu Yongtao as the striker. Two veteran players, Li Kai and Sun Jiangshan, were on the bench, with Li Kai coming on as a substitute in the 74th minute and Sun Jiangshan expected to make a comeback in the next round.
During the course of the game, both sides battled in the midfield with inefficient attacks and only one shot on target in the whole game, which was taken by NIT's Kung Han Kui, but failed to break through the goal. In addition, Kung Han Kui had one more chance, but was called for a foul.
The 0-0 scoreline meant that the second leg would decide the winner, and under the rules of the tournament system, away goals are not added to the scoreline despite it being a two-legged match, so both sides still had to start from the same starting line.
