In the summer to late fall of 2022, Qingdao Sea Cow Football Club experienced fierce competition after fierce competition in just half a year's schedule, with a total of 36 matches. In this journey, Hainiu not only showed the tenacious competitive state, but also drew a perfect ending with the glory of being the runner-up in the China First Division League.
Looking back to yesterday, in the season finale, the Manatees drew with Guangxi with a score of 2:2 by virtue of the excellent play of Xu Jiajun and Chen Jiaqi, despite the fact that they were facing an all-Chinese opponent. So far, the Manatees have achieved 23 wins, 7 draws and 4 losses in the league this season, with an average score of 2.24 points per game, which is a new record for the team. It is worth mentioning that when the Manatees won the title in China B last year, the average score was only 2.18 points per game, and when Qingdao Yellow Sea won the title in 2019, the average score was even as low as 1.9 points per game. These achievements could not have been achieved without the fiercely competitive environment of China's First Division.
Interestingly, last year's opponent of the Sea Bulls was none other than Guangxi Pingguo, and the two teams also shook hands last year with a score of 2:2, with the Sea Bulls eventually winning on penalties with the battle and claiming the S.B. Championship.
Despite being down 1:2 at one point in the match, the Manatees eventually came back from the match in one piece. This season, the Manatees ended with draws in both the first and last rounds, and can be said to have maintained a steady competitive streak from the beginning to the end of the season.
In the final stages of the season, the Manatees also saw Guangxi Pingguo rewrite the single-season draw record in the Chinese Football Association Professional League. After forcing the Manatees to a draw, Guangxi Pingguo, with 6 wins, 17 draws and 11 losses, became the team with the most draws in a single season in the history of professional leagues at all levels of the Chinese Football Association. The previous tie record of 12 wins, 16 draws and 4 losses set by Guangdong Rizhiquan in the 2004 season has now been broken.
The Manatee's illustrious history doesn't stop there; after the 1996 season, the Manatee once again finished as runners-up in the CFA Sub-League. From the 1997 season to the 2013 season, the Manatees were ranked in the top league of the CFA for 17 consecutive seasons, and won the CFA Cup in the 2002 season.
In today's game, Xu Jiajun and Chen Jiaqi were especially eye-catching. Xu Jiajun made 16 appearances in the league, including five starts, and scored five goals, while Chen Jiaqi showed great strength by scoring three goals in the past two rounds.
It is worth mentioning that assistant coach Chandin mentioned Qiao Weiguang, the investor of Hainiu FC and the chairman and president of Zhongneng Group, in the post-match press conference. As to why he mentioned Qiao Weiguang, let's look forward to the next video to reveal.
Today, the Manatees will make their triumphant return by bus, and are expected to arrive at the club's training base at 1657 Jinshui Road, Lichang District, at around 3pm. Although the epidemic prevention and control policy has been optimized, the exact arrangement for fans to get close to the team is not yet clear, but at least you can head to the training base and remotely greet the team's triumphant return.
