CSL Matchday 7 Recap

I started out this week 21-19, an average week this week with a couple of close games saw me go 4-4, for a total of 25-23 on the season. The big Friday night games were exciting and led the way for a really great weekend of football, let's get to it:

Beijing Guoan 0 - 0 Shanghai Shenhua : RIGHT
The full write up's here. Great, hard fought game, bad refereeing, and good goalkeeping meant Guoan walked away with a disappointing draw. Original Prediction: Beijing 1-1 Shanghai.

Tianjin Teda 0 - 1 Shandong Luneng : RIGHT
In the other Friday night action, Tianjin got off to a good start, pumped up by the home holiday crowd, with 2 excellent 1st half chances that they failed to put away, one of them, in the 21st minute, was on an open net. It was a tough game for Hao Junmin and Wu Wei'an and the rest of the Tianjin squad as chance after chance went just wide or was saved by big Li Leilei. After all that frustration, it had to kill them being beaten by a beautiful header from Han Peng with only 5 minutes left in the match. Original Prediction: Tianjin 1-2 Shandong.

Changchun Yatai 3 - 1 Shenzhen : RIGHT
This game got very exciting very early with Shenzhen stunning the home side with a headed goal 7 minutes into the game. It took Changchun almost the entire half, but they responded in the 41st minute when Du Zhenyu set up Cao Tianbao for the goal. The two combined on the other side of half time when Du to Cao equalled the go-ahead goal in the 49th minute. Ai Zhibo added a 3rd, and once again the goal was set up by Du, the home team walked away with an easy 3 points. Original prediction: Changchun 2-0 Shenzhen.

Qingdao Zhongneng 2 - 1 Shaanxi Zhongxin : WRONG
A perfect example of the age old expression, this is why they play the games. Shaanxi came into this game looking strong after beating Beijing the week before and even though they were on the road, they were licking their chops to play this fairly weak Qingdao side. However, Qingdao and veteran Qu Bo had different plans for this one. Qu was a promising youth player who came to prominence as a part of Milutinovic's 2002 World Cup, but since then he hasn't gotten a lot of attention and has remained with Qingdao, despite interest from other clubs. The first goal was a strange one, coming 10 minutes in, when a failed Shaanxi clearance was played back into the box, the defense was all ball watching and thought Qu was offside, the goalie was also asleep and Qu beat him to the ball and tucked it away on an empty net. Shaanxi came back with a great opportunistic header by Marvin Avila to level the game, though Qu put it away with a header in the last 10 minutes to give Qingdao all 3 points. Original Prediction: Qingdao 0-1 Shaanxi.

Guangzhou Baiyunshan 1 - 0 Jiangsu Sainty : WRONG
As was expected, these two teams went at each other in a very even match, with both sides getting good chances. That venue in Guangzhou is a very nice one, unlike a lot of the stadiums, fans seem really close to the pitch and there seems to be a nice slant so even the highest seats are still close to the action, I hope I can check it out at some point. Fortunately it seems like the Guangzhou fans are pretty civilized, if that was in Beijing, the field would be so covered with debris that it would be impossible to play. Anyways, back to the match, while Guangzhou had a few more chances than Jiangsu, both teams deserved a point, however, a questionable penalty kick was given to Guangzhou in the 84th minute. There were two fouls, one just outside the box that was more obvious and one inside the box that was a lot less so. Xu Liang stepped up and coolly knocked the penalty in, his league leading 6th goal (though half have been penalty kicks) to secure 3 points. Original Prediction: Guangzhou 1-1 Jiangsu.

Hangzhou Greentown 1 - 1 Chongqing Lifan : WRONG
On a rainy Saturday in Hangzhou, the home team disappointed the (small) crowd that came out. The highlight of the 1st half was Otto converting a penalty kick in the 24th minute after a Hangzhou player was pulled down in the box. The 2nd half was also fairly uneventful, except for a Chongqing goal scored not by Guinee, but he was important in setting it up, with a sweet pass across the middle and his fellow foreigner burying it to equalize the game and earn Chongqing a point. Original Prediction: Hangzhou 2-1 Chongqing.

Henan Construction 1 - 1 Chengdu Blades : WRONG
In the biggest surprise of the weekend, league leaders Henan only managed a point at home against cellar dwellers Chengdu. Right off the bat Chengdu opened things up with a goal in the 7th minute when Shi Jun shocked the home team off a free kick. Henan immediately went on the attack to equalize with their two headed attack of Netto and Olisadebe both producing good chances though it was Xu Yang who finally netted the equalizer in the 28th minute. From then on Henan dominated the chances, though they were unable to get another one past and were forced to settle for one point. Original Prediction: Henan 2-0 Chengdu.

Dalian Shide 1 - 0 Changsha Jinde : RIGHT
Changsha had to go on the road for only the 2nd time this season. Both teams were able to create some decent chances in the 1st half, with Changsha surprisingly looking like the better side (or at least the one with the more threatening attack). In the 2nd half, Dalian regrouped and looked the better side, finally scoring in the 60th minute when Dong Fangzhuo headed on a nice cross to Ahn Junghwan put it away. Whether or not Ahn was offside is something that can be debated, but the goal stood and Changsha was unable to respond. Original Prediction: Dalian 1-0 Changsha.

CSL Matchday 5 Recap

A great weekend of action, though last night's FA Cup semifinal put me to sleep. As for my predictions, it was an impressive week, going 7-1 to finally have a winning record for the season at 19-13. Without further adu, here we go:

Shandong Luneng 2 - 2 Beijing Guoan : RIGHT
For the full wrap, go here. The first game was everything I hoped for, just too bad Guoan couldn't pull it out. Very exciting and Antar is damn good, Shandong must do everything they can to keep him. Original Prediction: Shandong 1 - 1 Beijing.

Tianjin Teda 0 - 2 Jiangsu Sainty : WRONG
Once again, Jiangsu's two Wuhan transfers carry the team to victory. Tianjin now moves down to 3rd place and the crowd of teams sitting on 9 points. Tianjin, while possessing a strong offense, is seriously lacking in defense (could this be due to loss of Matic?). On the other hand, Jiangsu's defense is incredibly stable and they were able to hold off the Tianjin attack, while responding with their own in the 2nd half. Original Prediction: Tianjin 2 - 1 Jiangsu.

Shanghai Shenhua 4 - 1 Shenzhen : RIGHT
It was defenders that did it for Shenhua, with Yanko Valkanov getting the only goal in a fairly ho hum 1st half, though things got more interesting in the 2nd when he and Du Wei both came up with goals. Shenzhen was able to get one past Qiu Shenjiong in the 72', but Gu Bin added one more in the 88' as Shanghai easily cruised past Shenzhen and into 2nd spot. Original Prediction: Shanghai 1 - 0 Shenzhen.

Dalian Shide 3 - 1 Hangzhou Greentown : RIGHT
Carried by Ahn Junghwan's brace (the 1st on a questionable spot kick) and one from Li Kai (a beautiful diving header off a corner), Dalian was carried to victory. While Hangzhou tried to make it interesting through a goal by Otto, it wasn't enough. Ahn transferred to Dalian this year and was supposed to be the difference maker, someone to bring this team back to glory and this week he was able to. This team is a player or two away from once again being a contender. Original Prediction: Dalian 2 - 0 Hangzhou.

Changchun Yatai 0 - 0 Shaanxi Zhongxin : RIGHT
Snore...Changchun was able to come up with a number of chances, but none good enough to get past the keeper, while Shaanxi did very little and should be happy to come out unscathed and with a point. I hate talking about these nil-nil matches and it seems there's one (or two) every weekend in the CSL. Original Prediction: Changchun 1 - 1 Shaanxi.

Henan Construction 2 - 0 Changsha Jinde : RIGHT
Henan's win puts them at the top of the table, with two goals before many fans even got to their seats from Olisadabe (3') and Xu Yang (5'). This huge shock to Changsha was too much and their typical defensive strategy was shot. They were unable to regroup, especially going a man down due to Wang Qiang's two yellow cards, both given during a very chippy 20 minutes or so in the 1st half. Original Prediction: Henan 1 - 0 Changsha.

Guangzhou Baiyunshan 3 - 1 Chongqing Lifan : RIGHT
Wet conditions in Guangzhou saw the visiting squad jump out to an early lead with a goal in the 19', however shortly before the end of the half Xu Liang nailed a long freekick and did his salute celebration for the 5th time (leading the league in scoring). Guangzhou added 2 more in the second half to seal the deal. This Guangzhou side's got some talent, they'll be in the middle of the table this year, but if they pick up a transfer or two, they have potential. Original Prediction: Guangzhou 2 - 0 Chongqing.

Qingdao Zhongneng 2 - 1 Chengdu Blades : RIGHT
Some very bad weather in Qingdao, though Chengdu was able to open the scoring in the 1st half, but failed to continue the attack. Qingdao came up with some good opportunities, but wasn't able to open their account. However, early in the 2nd half, Qingdao equalized off a booming header on a corner kick, then followed it up with another just before the end of the match. Original Prediction: Qingdao 2 - 1 Chengdu.

A great week for the CSL (and my predictions) and we have some Champions League matches to look forward to midweek before a full weekend of matches.

Matchday 3 Recap

Results this week were very interesting, especially Shanghai's stunning victory, so let's not wait:

Tianjin Teda 2 - 0 Chongqing Lifan: RIGHT

Tianjin netted two 1st half goals, one by Wang Xinxin, and then cruised through the 2nd half, this team's league performance is head and shoulders above everyone else.  Original prediction: Tianjin 3 - 0 Chongqing.

Beijing Guoan 1 - Jiangsu Sainty: WRONG

The matchday review says it all.

Shanghai Shenhua 4 - 1 Shandong Luneng: WRONG

Shandong's Antar scored yet another CSL goal, opening up the scoring, but Shenhua came back with 2 very lucky goals in the last 5 minutes of the half.  Adding two more in the 2nd half killed the game and gave Shanghai a big boost going into Champions League matchday 3.  Original prediction: Shangha 1 - 1 Shandong

Shenzhen 2 - 1 Shaanxi Zhongxin: RIGHT

Shenzhen had a magical 5 minutes, scoring goals in the 27th and 30th minutes of the 1st half to jump ahead of Shaanxi, whose 2nd half response wasn't enough to make up the difference, I got this one on the button.  Original prediction: Shenzhen 2 - 1 Shaanxi

Changchun Yatai 2 - 0 Chengdu Blades: RIGHT

Another crazy game, Changchun broke the scorelessness in the 85th minute and then followed it up with another two minutes later.  Chengdu came back with a great free kick chance in stoppage time, but to no avail.  Original prediction: Changchun 1 - 0 Chengdu

Changsha Jinde 1 - 1 Qingdao Zhongneng: RIGHT

Another big bingo!  Yet this one was easy to call, so far Changsha has managed 3 draws, only scoring 1 goal, its pretty easy to guess what their anti-football will produce, this time Qingdao was the victim.  Original prediction Changsha 1 - 1 Qingdao.

Henan Jianye 2 - 0 Hangzhou Greentown: RIGHT

Another game where the score was kept even for a long time and then was shocked by a sudden scoring spree.  The former Polish international Olisadebe knocked in a brace with goals in the 79th and 84th minutes of the match.  Only good thing I can say for Hangzhou is that they were all wearing the same jersey this time around.  Original prediction: Henan 2 - 1 Hangzhou

Guangzhou Baiyunshan 3 - 1 Dalian Shide: WRONG

What can I say, I thought Dalian was a better squad than what it turns out they are.  I knew this team was rebuilding, but I thought it would be better.  At the half the score was 1-1 after a Xu Liang spot kick goal and then one of Dalian's Korean exports knocking one past the keeper 10 minutes later.  Xu added 2 more in the 2nd half, one off yet another penalty, the other from a free kick that has to be one of the prettiest goals scored to date.  Original prediction: Guangzhou 0 - 2 Dalian.

A 5-3 week, a major improvement from last week, but it still leaves me only 8-8 on the season.  Here's hoping for more great football this week.