SIPG blanks Shenxin to stay in hunt
Print Edition
SHANGHAI SIPG beat city rival Shenxin 2-0 at Shanghai Stadium last night, stabilizing its second place in the Chinese Super League standing.
It was SIPG’s fourth league victory in a row. After collecting 35 points from 17 rounds, it is one point behind league leader Beijing Guo’an.
SIPG proved to be the stronger side by dominating the first half, but missed several chances in front of the box. The opener came in the 57th minute when Ivorian striker Jean Evrard Kouassi instigated and completed an attack from the left wing.
Midfielder Wu Lei added another in the 82nd to seal the victory. He could have padded his team’s advantage earlier when he hit the post in the 75th.
“Some top-ranked CSL teams won their matches on Saturday already, and I’m happy we won (to keep up pace with them),” Wu said in a post-match interview.
“We created a lot of chances today, and also missed a lot. But we won, so I’m happy,” SIPG head coach Sven-Goran Eriksson said. “The first half was not easy as Shenxin was defending with nine or sometimes 10 players.”
With just eight points, Shenxin stayed bottom of the 16-team league.
In another match yesterday, defending champion Guangzhou Evergrande whitewashed Chongqing Lifan 7-0 to go third in the standing on 34 points — one less than SIPG, and one more than Shandong Luneng.
On Saturday, Shanghai Greenland Shenhua edged Guangzhou R&F 1-0 thanks to a second-half strike from Tim Cahill.
The in-form Australian hit the post with a header in the first half. He remained active in the second half, and scored the sole goal of the match in the 75th on a pass from Lu Zheng. It was Cahill’s third goal in the last four matches after the former Everton player was listed as a candidate to be replaced in the mid-season CSL transfer.
“It has been a tough month,” he said. “But the best thing about us is that we try to keep going and believe in the team. You just have to keep playing. We all have faith in the club.”
Cahill’s hot form has left club bosses with a tough decision to make. The team will soon have to end the contract with one of its foreign players to make room for newly signed Senegal international Demba Ba.
Mali midfielder Sissoko made his debut at Hongkou Stadium, drawing praise from Shenhua head coach Francis Gillot.
Shenhua is now seventh in the standing with 22 points.
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