It was a bit of an unusual week in the CSL, with plenty of goals from Chinese scorers for a change and a number of matches featuring goals in the first five minutes. On top of that, we saw a pair of high scoring affairs and most importantly, no scoreless draws. On top of that, Shenhua’s derby dominance continued, Guangzhou Evergrande got back at Henan for beating them in the cup midweek, and Harbin came up with another victory.
Dalian Aerbin 1-1 Hangzhou Greentown
Hangzhou went up in the opening minutes with a header off a corner kick, but Dalian struck back with a rocket shot late in the first half. The sides battled back and forth in the second half, but neither could find a winner as they split the points.
Changchun Yatai 2-2 Beijing Guoan
Li Yunqiu’s Guoan debut will be memorable for all the wrong reasons. The youngster only lasted 10 minutes, receiving a (somewhat controversial) straight red for a handball saving goal. Changchun would convert the penalty and quickly add another, causing gloom to set in for Beijing fans, but it was Dejan Damjanovic to the rescue, as he contributed to both of Guoan’s goals in the final minutes of the first half.
Guangzhou R&F 2-3 Tianjin Teda
It was all Tianjin in the first half of this action packed affair, Zhou Haibin opened up scoring in the 3rd minute, then assisted another later in the half. The visitors added a third just before the half. Down by three, Sven’s men didn’t give up, Abderazak Hamdallah converted a penalty in the 47th minute and then added a second just minutes later. R&F pressed for an equalizer, but late on Hamdallah was called offside and on another chance R&F hit the post.
Guizhou Renhe 1-1 Jiangsu Sainty
Guizhou’s struggles continued as they could only manage a draw at home to Jiangsu. Roda Antar opened up scoring for the visitors on the hour mark, his first goal in the blue of Sainty. However the lead would only last for nine minutes, as Liu Jianye took down Yu Hai in the box and Zvjezdan Misimovic equalized from the penalty spot.
Shanghai Shenhua 2-0 Shanghai Shenxin
Shenhua overturned city rivals Shenxin in the minor edition of the Shanghai derby. Both teams played out a rather dull first half, with Shenxin in particular offering very little in the way of attacking threat. In the second half Shenhua pressed more and the breakthrough came in the 64th minute when Brazilian striker Paulo Henrique scored his first goal for the club with a placed finish. Shenhua spurned several chances to add to their lead, but finally did so in injury time with an absolutely remarkable goal from Gio Moreno. The Columbian played a one-two with Henrique only to stumble and almost fall over the ball at the edge of the six yard box when it looked easier to score. Moreno more than atoned for his sloppy error by dragging the ball back away from Shenxin keeper Liu Dianzuo before hooking his left leg behind his right leg to chip the ball into the net for the most audacious finish ever seen at Hongkou. The victory was Shenhua’s fourth successive derby win over Shenxin and the team look re-energized with their new strikeforce of Viatri and Henrique.
Shanghai East Asia 3-3 Liaoning Whowin
Goals galore ina Shanghai downpour, as Wu Lei leads the way once again. Liaoning’s recent signing Derick Ogbu opened up scoring early, with a 3rd minute goal. Shanghais struck back just after the half hour mark, the combination of Wu Lei and Tobias Hysen dangerous once again. In the second half, Liaoning jumped out with two goals, including Ogbu’s second, but in the last 15 minutes, East Asia fought back, the aforementioned Wu not giving up and scoring both goals, including the 88th minute equalizer.
Harbin Yiteng 2-0 Shandong Luneng
Harbin opened the season with a last minute loss to Shandong, but yesterday avenged that loss by beating one of China’s top sides and certainly reigniting the calls for Cuca’s head. The first half saw both teams create chances, but the second half was all Harbin. The opener came in the 55th minute, Harbin’s Xu Dong left all alone on the back post on a corner. Dori added one more late to guarantee the Ice City fans would be going home happy.
Henan Jianye 0-1 Guangzhou Evergrande
Jianye were hoping to replicated their midweek magic against the league leaders, but it wasn’t to be. While they were able to keep things even for much of the match, thanks in no small part to the horrible pitch and also Gilardino missing an absolute sitter, as is typically the case, Evergrande (namely Elkeson) is too much to keep off the board for 90 minutes. The Brazilian was able to find the back of the net in the 73rd minute to prevent the side from going winless in a third straight match.
