Dark horse Changchun Yatai is still chasing second place in the China Football Super League, after a 2:1 loss to mid-table team Shanghai Liancheng in the last match of the Super League's round 23 on Wednesday night.

Changchun's Du Zhenyu, a rising forward recently selected for the national team, sliced Liancheng's defense open in the 55th minute, giving the away side a 1:0 lead.

Changchun managed keep their lead until the 80th minute, but failed to convert it into a victory. In the last ten minutes of the game, two goals from Shanghai Liancheng's foreign strikers, Honduran Martinez and Brazilian Tiago, killed Changchun's aspirations of taking more points home.

Changchun Yatai is now ranked in fourth place in the league, trailing 2 points behind Beijing Hyandai and 1 point behind Shanghai Shenhua in the battle of the runners-up.
 
(CRI August 25, 2006)