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.