Henan takes biggest scalp of CFA Cup as quarterfinals set

Henan Jianye followed up their weekend league victory over Beijing Guoan by taking down Guangzhou Evergrande 2-1 with a great comeback win.

The hero of the Guoan match, Xiao Zhi, once again came up big for Jianye, scoring a corner kick header in the 79th minute and then following that up with another 10 minutes later to take his side past the Cantonese champions. Xiao’s performance spoiled the night for Evergrande new signing Alberto Gilardino scored his first goal for Guangzhou. There were late match fireworks beyond Xiao’s goal when Evergrande defender Zhang Linpeng couldn’t keep his temper in check, but the Chinese international somehow remained on the pitch, only seeing yellow, after delivering a hard elbow to a Henan player.

Jianye has to be excited about it’s chances of advancing to the semifinals, as they will take on Qingdao Hainiu, one of only two lower league sides remaining in the competition. The “Sea Bulls” advanced to the quarterfinals after defeating semi-pro Wuhan Hongxing on penalties. The other lower league side still in the tournament, Hainiu’s crosstown rivals Qingdao Jonoon, defeated Hangzhou Greentown, also on penalties, after pulling a Dutch style keeper change just before the shoot out.

The quarterfinals will see a Shanghai derby, as Shenhua was able to shake off their cup demons and slip past Yanbian 2-1, while Shenxin relied on a late winner to take them past semi-pro Suzhou. The two sides will certainly be familiar with each other, as this will be their second meeting in two weeks.

Finally, Beijing will be out for revenge against Shandong, who crushed them at home earlier in the season, and will hope new signing Dejan Damjanovic, who opened his account in Guoan’s 3-0 cup win over Guizhou, will assist in that goal.

The next round of the CFA Cup will be held in a fortnight, on August 6 & 7.