On the evening of August 22, Zhenjiang drew 1-1 with Xuzhou at home, officially ending their bid for this season's Jiangsu Super League (JS League) quarterfinals, with their final ranking locked at 12th in the regular season.
In the match, Xuzhou's Chen Jinxin opened the scoring in the 8th minute, and in the 33rd minute of the first half Zhenjiang's Xiao Chenya equalized with a wonder strike. After this match, Zhenjiang had 5 points from 10 games; with at most 6 more points available in the remaining two rounds, their total could reach at most 11 points, while the 8th-place team already had more than 11 points, so Zhenjiang were certain to miss the quarterfinals. Media had calculated before the match that a loss or draw could not catch the quarterfinal line, and only a win could keep hopes alive; the eventual draw ended the suspense early.
After the regular season, Zhenjiang's record was 1 win, 2 draws and 7 losses, with 6 goals scored and 17 conceded, for 5 points. After drawing Xuzhou, Zhenjiang rose to 12th in the standings, shaking off their long-standing bottom position. Compared with last season's bottom finish at 13th, they improved one place this season, and their points exceeded last season's total.
Since Stanjic took over as technical director, the team's defensive quality and tactical execution have noticeably improved over the last three matches, earning them praise from media as the team with the biggest progress in the same period. In the locker room, Stanjic encouraged the whole team with "just do it," uniting morale with "the harder it gets, the more united we are," winning respect from fans. After the match, when asked about his coaching future, Stanjic said, "If the fans want me to stay, I will definitely stay," leaving hope for Zhenjiang football.
