Nantun Zhiyun took a narrow victory over Shaanxi Union in the League One regular season, winning 4:1 on Friday, 22 August. The result lifts the hosts to fifth in the table, one point clear of their visitors who remain sixth after twenty matches. By then, both sides had played the same number of games, but the gap in points tells you something about the season so far.
Lucas Kal opened the scoring in the eighth minute, and the home side kept pressing. E. Gonzalez added a second from the spot just before half-time, after a penalty in the 45th minute plus one. Wei Zhiwei and A. Kalulu rounded out the tally, with the latter's goal coming in the 62nd minute. Gonzalez also scored again in the 28th minute before his spot-kick, which means he was involved in three of the four goals.
The yellow cards came thick and fast, with Ma Sheng, An Yifei, Wen Junjie, Luo Xin and Tan Kaiyuan all booked at various stages. Shaanxi Union made two substitutions in the 46th minute — Tursunali Nureli for Wang Shijie — while Nantun Zhiyun brought on Ling Jie in the 60th. Mi Haolun and Wen Junjie were replaced together in the 73rd, and Shen Chao and Wu Xingyu followed in the 77th. E. Gonzalez and R. El Azrak came off together in the 83rd, and Li Guanxi was the other change in the 82nd.
And here's the thing — the statistics don't always match the scoreline. Shaanxi Union had 56 per cent of possession and more total passes, but Nantun Zhiyun created three big chances compared with one for the visitors. The hosts registered six shots on target with five attempts off target, while the away side managed four on target and four off. Shots accuracy was higher for the visitors at 44 per cent, but accuracy means little when you're not converting.
What this means is that Nantun Zhiyun move closer to the teams above them, while Shaanxi Union's position stays the same. The hosts sit on 35 points with nine wins, eight draws and three losses, while their opponents have 29 points from eight victories, five draws and seven defeats. To be fair, both sides have been inconsistent lately — Nantun Zhiyun drew their last two before this win, and Shaanxi Union lost their most recent outing against Hubei Kungfu.