Matchday 2 Recap

Matchday 2 offered a lot less scoring than its first incarnation and some more surprises.  While I did pretty crappy on my predictions, as the season moves on and things start to become clear, I should be doing a lot better.

Dalian Shide 1 - 0 Henan Jianye : WRONG

Zhao Mingjian opened up Dalian's home campaign on a positive note by scoring the matches only goal to help them win 1-0.  My 1-1 prediction was a bit off.

Shandong Luneng 1 - 0 Shaanxi Zhongxin : RIGHT

I was a little surprised with how Shaanxi didn't come out to play.  Shandong dominated their home opener and had a number of chances, Lebanese midfielder Antar knocked in the difference maker in the 57th minute toe seal the game.  Original prediction Shandong 2 - 1 Shaanxi.

Chengdu Blades 1 - 0 Shanghai Shenhua : WRONG

I was wrong about this match, but happily so, by far this was my favorite result of the weekend, it almost makes up for Du Wenhui's error.  You see, there's nothing I love more than seeing Shanghai lose as I really, really hate Shanghai.  I also really hate Mao Jianqing, seeing him miss time and again and blow chances made me extremely happy.

Chongqing Lifan 1 - 1 Qingdao Zhongneng : RIGHT

The only game I nailed, Guinee scored his 2nd goal of the CSL campaign to lead the league in scoring off a corner kick in the 11th minute, this guy's going to be pretty unstoppable throughout the season even though his team will be horrible.  Qingdao's equalizer came from Li Taiyong just before halftime.

Jiangsu Sainty 0 - 1 Changchun Yatai : WRONG

Jiangsu is very unlucky not to have a point, they played hard against Shanghai Shenhua and in their home opener they had a lot of chances, but just couldn't put one away.  They even had a penalty kick that was missed, these are opportunities that they'll need to put away if they want to stay up.  Changchun capitalized on Jiangsu's weak attack knocking in a header off a set piece to win the match.  I said 1-nil to Jiangsu, in fact it turned out the other way, if they don't turn things around its going to be a long season as they are now the only team without a point.

Shenzhen 1 - 2 Guangzhou Baiyunshan : WRONG

I got the score right, but had the wrong team winning as Shenzhen failed to repeat their impressive performance in the season's opening game.  Guangzhou's goals came off of 2 headers, 1 late in the first half and the other late in the 2nd sandwiching a 2nd half Shenzhen goal.  Xu Liang scored the winning goal for Guangzhou, securing them the first of the year's Guangdong derbies.

Hangzhou Greentown 0 - 2 Tianjin Teda : RIGHT

Tianjin continued their success with a 2-nil win at Hangzhou with a goal n the 20th minute off a Mao Biao cross into the box and a scramble in which Wang Xinxin finally put the ball in the net, Cao Yang killed the game in the 86th minute off a sweet goal giving Tianjin the win.  A 2-0 scoreline would appear to be a one-sided drubbing, but reality was far different with chance after chance falling to Hangzhou players who simply couldn't put the ball in the net.  Tianjin remains at the top of the league, with a perfect record so far.

Changsha Jinde 0 - 0 Beijing Guoan : WRONG

Du Wenhui, must I say more?!?

A pretty miserable first week, getting only 3 out of the 8 matches right.

Matchday 2 Preview: Changsha Jinde

After another Saturday of football, Guoan will go to battle on Sunday afternoon, this time around though, they'll be the only game around.  Some very interesting results in today's matches, hopefully Beijing will be able to stay strong.  It's still early days, but a win would keep them tied at the top spot with Tianjin, who won today.  

Lots of talk during the week, much of it focusing on Paul and his mistakes in the last game, though he says everyone makes mistakes and that he's ready to get back in action and prove himself to the fans.  It's very possible we'll be seeing Lang Zheng start in his place tomorrow. The mood around the team is good and coach Lee Jangsoo is confident his squad will be ready for this one in Changsha.  Unlike a lot of CSL squads, Guoan has experience with a tough away match already, having played in Japan in the Champions League.

A little injury news as Yang Zhi was banged up a bit in training, though most likely he'll still be between the pipes tomorrow.  Zhou Ting is still recovering, though its unlikely we'll see him for a few more weeks, though Zhang Yonghai is looking good and could feature in the squad in the very near future.  Emil Martinez has continued to progress in practice and it wouldn't be surprising if Lee decides to split up the Griffiths brothers up top for this one.

Personally, it hasn't been the best of weeks for me, a Guoan victory would go a long way in making things a bit happier around here.  Last year, Guoan managed to get 4 points off of Changsha (a draw in Changsha, a win in Beijing), Changsha's squad isn't quite as good as last year, especially without Chen Tao leading the way and this contest is ripe for 3 points.

Matchday 2 League Preview

The first edition of picks sure to go wrong starts now:

3.28  15:00     Dalian Shide - Henan Jianye 

Henan opened strong, while Dalian will want to make up for their tough loss when they open at home, however, they don't seem to have the tools, a 1-1 fight between the squads is what I predict.

3.28  15:10     Shandong Luneng - Shaanxi Zhongxin 

Shandong remains at home to take on Shaanxi in what could be the best match of the day.  Can Shandong make up for the loss of Zhou Haibin in the off-season?  Who is going to step up for them?  Can Shaanxi make the step to the next level?  This game could help answer some of those questions.  Prediction: Shandong 2 - 1 Shaanxi

3.28  15:30     Chengdu Blades - Shanghai Shenhua

Chengdu welcomes Shanghai to town as they open up their season at home, I predict lots of talk about how Chengdu is percervering after the earthquake and the hated Shanghai cruising to a victory.  Prediction: Chengdu 0 - 2 Shanghai

3.28  15:30     Chongqing Lifan - Qingdao Zhongneng

After what I saw of Chongqing in Beijing, they do have a dangerous side to them, mainly through their big man up top Guinee.  Qingdao is a midtable squad that will meet their match in this one.  Prediction: Chongqing 1-1 Qingdao

3.28 15:30     Jiangsu Sainty - Changchun Yatai

Changchun opened up disappointingly while Jiangsu lost in a late shocker.  It will be interesting to see if newly promoted Jiangsu will continue punching above their weight in their home opener.  Prediction: Jiangsu 1 - 0 Changchun

3.28  15:30     Shenzhen - Guangzhou Baiyunshan

It's derby day in Shenzhen as these two Guangdong squads do battle.  These are two of the league's younger teams featuring a lot of players that are sure to have gone up against each other a lot in local Guangdong youth matches and so its going to be interesting.  Shenzhen was impressive in their first game and I think they'll continue their tactics and wear down Guangzhou to come away with the win.  Prediction: Shenzhen 2 - 1 Guangzhou

3.28  19:30     Hangzhou Greentown - Tianjin Teda

The night's only match will be an interesting test for Hangzhou, as they'll be facing one of the league's premier squads.  Tianjin will be facing its first road challenge, but it shouldn't have a great effect on them.  Prediction:  Hangzhou 1 - 3 Tianjin

3.29  15:30     Changsha Jinde - Beijing Guoan

The only Sunday start, allowing Guoan to feature on national tv as they head to Hunan.  Changsha doesn't have the guns and Guoan have shown themselves to be strong in these early days.  Because I don't want to tempt fate and sound overconfident, I'm going to tone down my choice.  Prediction: Changsha 0 - 2 Beijing