10 minute nightmare leads to Beijing dropping points at home

Beijing Guoan 3-3 Jiangsu Sainty
Chinese Super League Round 19
Zhang Xizhe 15′, Shao Jiayi 70′, 86′; Wu Xi ’72, Krimets 73′ (OG), Sun Ke 78′
Attendance: 43,500

In a true back-and-forth, extremely entertaining clash for neutrals, Beijing Guoan and Jiangsu Sainty shared points Sunday night. Despite the entertainment value of the match, Beijing fans are certainly going to be unhappy that their team once again dropped points they shouldn’t have.

Despite the rain, a large crowd of over 43,000 turned out at Worker’s Stadium and things got off to a great start when youngster Zhang Xizhe continued his red hot season by opening up the scoring in the 15th minute. The scoreline would remain at 1-0 through the first half, despite some solid chances for Guoan and all the way until the 70th minute when substitute Shao Jiayi received a Zhang pass and slotted one past the keeper.

A 2-0 lead with only 20 minutes left would typically be safe, especially considering the conditions, but things changed quickly. Within minutes, Jiangsu responded by scoring two quick goals, first Wu Xi was left all alone for and then Guoan defender Krimets made his greatest contribution of the season, unfortunately it was by knocking a Zhou Yun cross past his own keeper. To top it all off, Sun Ke found open space and headed past the keeper to give the visitors a 3-2 lead. Three goals in 10 minutes left the Beijingers shell shocked and desperate.

The match was saved for Guoan minutes before the end when a Zhou Ting cross found Shao, who scored his second of the night. The Beijingers then pushed for a winner, but it wasn’t in the cards as the teams split the points. The match feels like a real blown result for Beijing, but the battle for the final ACL spot is sure to be a fight that goes down to the wire.