Liaoning survived a close call yesterday afternoon against local China League side, Shenyang Shenbei. The sparsly attended afternoon match lacked the passion of a derby in the crowd, but on the pitch it was a tight affair.
In the 20th minute, a beautiful Liaoning free kick taken by Pablo Brandan saw the CSL side go up 1-0 and it seemed like it would be enough to win it for them. However, it was Liaoning’s inability to close out a match that once again hurt them late in the match. The side has conceeded a number of late goals so far this season and this match was no different, as complacency late in the match saw an uncovered Nan Yongqi equalize in the 84th minute.
The hero Nan would see his status revoked when the match went to penalties, his miss in the second round was the difference, as all five Liaoning penalty takers scored, to knock out Shenbei and advance to take on Tianjin in the next round.
In other CFA Cup action, Shanghai Shenhua was shocked by Yi League (3rd division) side Dalian Ruilong, the biggest upset of the cup so far. In a slightly lesser upset, China League upstarts Guangdong Sunray Cave knocked out CSL strugglers Wuhan Zall.
Here’s a complete list of scores. The fourth round of the Cup will commence on July 10 and we’ll have matches for you soon:
Guangzhou R&F 4-1 Chongqing FC
Dalian Aerbin 2-0 Tianjin Songjiang
Shandong Luneng 3-1 Shijiazhuang Smart Hero
Changchun Yatai 1-0 Henan Construction
Tianjin Teda 2-1 Shenzhen Ruby
Shanghai Shenhua 2-3 Dali Ruilong
Shanghai Shenxin 2-0 Hunan Billows
Hangzhou Greentown 1-0 Wuhan Hongxing
Wuhan Zall 0-0 (1-4) Guangdong Sunray Cave
Qingdao Jonoon 5-2 Harbin Yiteng
Shanghai East Asia 1-1 (5-4) Chongqing Lifan
