JINAN (Interstat) — Shandong Taishan B overcame an early deficit and held off Shenzhen for a 3-2 victory in a five-goal football match that turned on a second-half burst from the home side. Shenzhen struck first in the 10th minute when Zihao Shi found the net, giving the visitors a lead that held through much of the first half. Shandong Taishan B responded after the break, with Mei Shuaijun equalizing in the 66th minute and J. Lu putting the home team ahead in the 74th minute. The result gave Shandong Taishan B its third win in the competition this season and left Shenzhen still searching for a first victory. Shenzhen scored twice in the match, with Luan Cheng and Zihao Shi each recording one goal. Shandong Taishan B scored three times, with Mei Shuaijun and J. Lu among the scorers.

Shi’s opener was the only goal of a contentious first half. Chen W. was shown a yellow card for Shenzhen in the 21st minute, and the visitors took their narrow advantage into the interval. Shandong Taishan B began to change the match with substitutions, including Ma Yinhao in the 55th minute and He K. in the 63rd. Shenzhen made a substitution in the 62nd minute before a flurry of changes in the 77th minute that included the removal of Shi, Chen W., Yongsu Huang and Liu Q. Shandong continued to rotate late, with Shi Songchen and Memet Imran entering in the 85th minute and Hao Fubo entering in the 87th. Those late changes helped Shandong Taishan B see out the closing stages after taking the lead.

Mei Shuaijun played the full 90 minutes and scored once for Shandong Taishan B. J. Lu scored in 27 minutes of action, while Memet Imran recorded an assist over 85 minutes and Chen Zeshi added an assist in 35 minutes. For Shenzhen, Luan Cheng played 90 minutes and scored once, and Zihao Shi scored in 77 minutes before being substituted. Zihan Chen was booked for Shandong Taishan B in the 90th minute plus one minute of stoppage time. The late yellow card came as Shandong protected its advantage.

Shenzhen’s season record in this competition is now 0 wins, 4 losses and 1 draw, and its record across all competitions is also 0 wins, 4 losses and 1 draw. Shandong Taishan B’s season record in this competition is now 3 wins, 0 losses and 2 draws, matching its record across all competitions. Shenzhen had entered after a draw with Dalian Kewei and losses to Shanxi Chongde Ronghai, Shanghai Port B and Shandong Taishan B. Shandong Taishan B had beaten Jiangxi Lushan U21, drawn with Hangzhou Linping and Guizhou Guiyang, and beaten Shenzhen in the most recent head-to-head meeting.

The match followed a pattern familiar from the teams’ recent form. Shenzhen had opened its season with setbacks but showed resilience with a draw against Dalian Kewei. Shandong Taishan B had been tougher to beat, with wins over Jiangxi Lushan U21 and Shenzhen and draws against Hangzhou Linping and Guizhou Guiyang. The home side’s ability to answer after halftime proved decisive, while Shenzhen’s late substitutions sought to change the momentum but could not produce an equalizer. Shandong’s defense held through the final minutes, including the stoppage-time booking of Zihan Chen, to secure the one-goal margin.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Shandong Taishan B 2, Shenzhen 1. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Shandong Taishan B with a 80.6 percent probability to win. Shandong Taishan B had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -0.5. The total score of 5 went under the over/under line of 2.5.