There were six matches on the CSL fixture list last night and a lot of goals scored. Debutants Peter Utaka and Erton Fejzullahu both made impacts for their new clubs, with Erton’s being far greater. In Harbin, Evergrande continually drilled the plucky locals, while a number of sides failed to keep early leads. Tonight there are two matches on the CSL slate, as Liaoning hosts R&F and a battle of bottom of the table sides with Changchun travelling to Henan.
Jiangsu Sainty 2-2 Shandong Luneng
Truly a tale of two halves in Naning as Shandong jumped out to a quick lead before the half hour mark, no surprise that Vagner Love’s name made it on the scorer’s sheet. Just as things seemed to be looking up for Cuca, his nightmares were made worse in the second half when Jiangsu responded with a pair of goals to equalize things and Zhang Wenzhao’s potential winner hit the post. How much longer will Cuca be able to hold onto his job in Jinan?
Beijing Guoan 4-1 Dalian Aerbin
It was quite possibly the fastest a Guoan player has had his own song as fans were quick to change around the viral hit song and dance “Little Apple” for Erton Fejzullahu, whose brace (as well as an assist) made for a sensational CSL debut. Things didn’t always look so happy for Guoan, the first half was a tight affair with little being done by either side. Piao Cheng got the scoring started in the 57th minute, the struggling midfielder getting his first goal in 2014. Dalian didn’t produce much offense, but when they did it was heavily reliant on Yu Dabao, Bruno Meneghel, and Zhou Tong. Meneghel was able to equalize 10 minutes after Piao’s goal and doom set in around Gongti. However, that’s when Erton stepped up, with two goals in quick succession and then a Chen Zhizhao extra time exclamation mark to send the Gongti faithful home, but not without letting the players know how important a win at Hongkou is this weekend.
Hangzhou Greentown 0-0 Shanghai Shenhua
Greentown and Shenhua played out an uninspiring stalemate in a Yangtze Delta Derby, with both teams spurning good chances to snatch a lead. Despite being played in the evening, the match was took place in stifling 34c heat and very high humidity which made for a rather lethargic spectacle all-round. Best chance of the match fell to Ivorian striker Davy Claude Angan who was denied in spectacular style by Shenhua custodian Geng Xiaofeng.
Tianjin Teda 1-2 Guizhou Renhe
Another match with a second half comeback, in this clash Tianjin went up in the 17th minute through Valencia only to give up the lead and all three points in the second half. Earlier on in the second half, Yu Hai equalized things and then shortly after the hour mark Yang Yihu put Guizhou up. Valencia missed a great opportunity late on to end Tianjin’s streak of six matches without a defeat.
Shanghai Shenxin 1-3 Shanghai East Asia
It looked like an ideal debut for Peter Utaka last night as he managed to score in the opening minutes on a penalty, but East Asia made sure that Shenxin lost yet another “derby” match, though they left it for the last minutes. East Asia came back with a first half equalizer, but it wouldn’t be until the second half that things really got started. The match featured an unusual “cooling break” in the 74th minute, but it seemed to make East Asia red hot. The part of Shanghai would take the lead in the 87the minute, followed by one more by Wu Lei in extra time to seal the deal.
Harbin Yiteng 3-6 Guangzhou Evergrande
An exciting, high scoring affair in the Ice City as Evergrande (wearing a new overly simple kit last night) were just too much for their hosts. Less than 20 minutes into the match, it was already 3-0 to Evergrande, with Elkeson and Gao Lin getting on the board, with the third coming from an own goal. It seemed that the champions would win it in a route, but Harbin fought back, Yan Xiangchuang set up Ricardo to get one back in the 51st minute, only for Gao Lin to make it 4-1 three minutes later. Dori stepped up to cut down the deficit in the 73rd minute, but once again Evergrande would strike back, this time from Rene Junior in the 80th. Two minutes later it was Yan to Ricardo once again, a brace making up for his earlier own goal and the match at 5-3, giving the home fans hopes of a comeback. Elkeson killed those hopes with his second, this time from the penalty spot to make it 6-3 and ending Harbin’s home winning streak.
