CSL 2013 Weekend Wrap: All the goals from Round 5

With no Friday night matches this round, day 5 kicked-off on Saturday afternoon. Wuhan Zall’s 1:1 away draw at Changchun Yatai was the first point for the visiting side in 2013. Of course, the sharing of spoils was not good news for Changchun – 2007 CSL champion – as the northeasterners currently find themselves in the bottom half of the table with not much breathing space left. Guangzhou R&F’s 0:0 home draw with Shanghai East Asia was the only goalless affair of this weekend. R&F’s engine still continues to stutter (whatever the reasons may be), while the young Shanghai team managed to secure a valuable point away from home.

Much to the joy of Shanghai Shenhua supporters in the evening, their team inflicted Shandong Luneng’s first loss in 2013. Luneng could have easily run away with tie at Hongkou Stadium during the first half where they only managed to score one goal despite producing chance over chance. In the second half Shenhua got their teeth into the match and the bit of luck you need in this kind of situation. They managed to score two goals to keep all the points in Shanghai. After having won nine points from five matches, Shanghai’s points tally now stands at 3 (you all know why only at 3). Qingdao Jonoon, the other team from Shandong Province – which was previously dubbed as perennial relegation-avoiders as they always seem to duck their head out of the rope around their neck at the very last minute – remain the only unbeaten team of the current campaign so far as they managed to win 2:1 at Tianjin Teda. Qingdao now tops the table with 13 points. Tianjin, on the other hand, can only dream of CSL football next season if things continue. The side is rooted to the very bottom of the league with a tally of – 3 points.

Liaoning kept their fine campaign going (they still have not lost this year) by winning 3:1 against Hangzhou Greentown in Shenyang. For the traveling team from Zhejiang Province, the result meant their first loss of the 2013 campaign. Last weekend, no Guangzhou Evergrande fixture took place, but the visiting team at Dalian Aerbin showed that they still have not lost their appetite, skills and routine when they dispatched the pre-season hotshots from Liaoning Province 2:1 in Jinzhou.

Who would have thought that none of the three Shanghai teams would lose during this weekend? Shenxin’s thrilling encounter with Guoan at Beijing’s Gongti ended 2:2. Shanghai managed to steal a point from this fixture. The puzzling note about this match for the Shanghaiers is that this time round they wasted a lead again (as in Nanjing and at home to Liaoning in the previous two rounds). Guizhou Renhe continued to better their run of good results and slowly climb back to the top of the table by winning 3:0 over Jiangsu Sainty in Guiyang.

135,934 people attended all the eight CSL round 5 clashes. This makes for an average of 16,992 spectators present at each game.

Changchun Yatai 1-1 Wuhan Zall

Attendance: 10,112

Guangzhou R&F 0 – 0 Shanghai East Asia

Attendance: 10,013

Tianjin Teda 1-2 Qingdao Jonoon

Attendance: 11,435

Shanghai Shenhua 2-1 Shandong Luneng

Attendance: 12,430

Liaoning Whowin 3-1 Hangzhou Greentown

Attendance: 21,288

Dalian Aerbin 1-2 Guangzhou Evergrande