Shenhua falls to late strike by Hangzhou
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E-mail Shanghai Daily, August 6, 2013
There was not much celebration for Shanghai fans over the weekend after none of the three local teams could manage a victory.
Shanghai Shenhua conceded a late goal yesterday to go down against Hangzhou Greentown 0-1 at the Hongkou Football Stadium.
It remained on 12th with 20 points in the 16-team Chinese Super League after 19 rounds.
“We lost to ourselves today. The first half of the game was the worst we have played at home this season,” said team leader Mao Yijun, who sat on the bench for head coach Shen Xiangfu, who was suspended for complaining against the referee in the match against Liaoning Whowin.
The two sides had little to feed the 11,000 fans at Hongkou Stadium on a humid summer evening. The hosts created at least three decent chances inside the box in the second half but failed to find the net.
They paid for it in the 84th minute. Shenhua goalie Qiu Shengjiong blocked Hangzhou’s shot from a freekick, only to find the ball fall to Hangzhou’s unmarked Masashi Oguro, who found the back of the net.
Qiu was filling in for regular keeper Wang Dalei who is also serving a one-match ban for collecting four yellows.
“The closing minutes of first and second half are the most dangerous periods. We paid for our casualness and our opponent scored from our mistake rather than create a good chance,” Mao said.
Hangzhou’s Japanese manager Takeshi Okada was satisfied with his players.
“I don’t expect them to play pretty soccer, but I want to see their devotion. Today my players were playing with a spirit of ‘sacrifice.’”
In other weekend games, Shanghai East Asia was held goalless away at Changchun Yatai. It is in the 9th place, the best among all Shanghai teams. Shanghai Shenxin is 14th after being held 1-1 by Liaoning Whowin.
Defending champion Guangzhou Evergrande tops the league with 51 points, followed by Shandong Luneng (37) and Beijing Guo’an (30).
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