A pair of penalties converted by Serbian midfielder Aleksandar Zivkovic's and a late header by Li Jinyu gave Ljubisa Tumbakovic's side a welcome boost four days before their showdown against Korean champions Seongnam Chunma in the AFC Champions League.

The Jinan-based side moved within a point of leaders Dalian Shide, who were held to a 1-1 draw at Shaanxi Baorong.

Shandong opened the scoring after eight minutes when Li Jinyu was brought down in the box by Qingdao defender Liu Zhiyong and Zivkovic fired home a powerful shot kick to put the champions ahead.

The Serbian was spot on again in the 36th minute, converting his second penalty of the match after a cross by Jiao Zhe struck the arm of Croatian defender Igor Budisa.

Li, the top scorer in the China Super League last year, netted his first goal of the season in the dying minutes, heading in a cross from Lu Zheng.

"We were lucky to achieve this result as both teams seemed tired during the game," said Shandong coach Tumbakovic.

"But I want to totally forget about this match from now on because we need to gear up for the AFC Champions League game on Wednesday."

Shanghai Shenhua, who have a tricky away test in Indonesia against Persik Kediri on Wednesday, failed to build on their victory against Shandong as they were held to a goalless draw by newly promoted Henan Jianye.

Chinese international midfielder Yu Tao, the scorer of the winner against Shandong, turned from hero to villain as he was sent off in the 28th minute following a bad tackle on Henan forward Yang Lin.

Henan also finished the game with 10 men as defender Wang Yang was also shown the red card on the hour for a challenge on Shenhua right winger Sun Ji.

In Saturday other league game, Zhejiang Lucheng beat Changchun Yatai 2-1.

Meanwhile K-League champions Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma warmed up for their midweek AFC Champions League clash in China against Shandong Luneng with a 3-1 home win against Gwangju Sangmu on Saturday.

The victory moved Seongnam into a tie for top spot with Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i, who downed Asian champions Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 2-1, and Pohang Steelers, who were held 1-1 at home by Daejeon Citizen.

Seongnam opened up a two-goal lead in the first half with Itamar surging clear to break the deadlock after 21 minutes and Son Dae-ho finding the net with a shot from outside the box a minute before the break.

Gwangju reduced the deficit a minute into the second half when Nam Kung-do ran on to Lee Dong-shik's through pass to beat Kim Yong-dae.

However, Kim Dong-hyun made it 3-1 midway through the second half to seal all three points for the seven-time champions.

Ulsan gained a measure of revenge for their loss to Jeonbuk in last season's AFC Champions League semi-finals after coming from behind to beat the kings of the continent.

Jeonbuk, who will only begin the defence of their AFC Champions League crown in the quarter-finals in September, took the lead midway through the first half.

Kim Chong-kyeom broke down the left flank and crossed into the box for Stevica Ristic, who headed past the despairing dive of goalkeeper Kim Young-kwang.

It was the Macedonian striker's second K-League goal in three starts for the Jeonju outfit.

But the hosts hit back shortly afterwards when Kim Yong-sam brought down Ulsan's Jose Luis Villanueva in the box and Chung Kyung-ho stepped up and blasted the spot kick past Kwoun Sun-tae.

A minute after the break, Ulsan went ahead when half-time substitute Lee Chun-soo, playing for the club for the first time since October, found Woo Sung-yong in the box and the 33-year-old calmly slotted home to give Ulsan a deserved win.

Gyeongnam FC won 2-1 at Incheon United in the day's other fixture, while Chunnam Dragons are in action against Daegu FC on Sunday afternoon.

Chunnam will then host Indonesian cup holders Arema Malang in the AFC Champions League on Wednesday.