CSL Matchday 6 Recap

What a rough week! I go 2-6 and only 6 goals scored in 8 matches made for some pretty piss poor football. Nothing more needs to be said, let's go to the games:


Changsha Jinde 0 - 0 Guangzhou Baiyunshan : WRONG
What a way to start! This crappy snorefest shows that Changsha got their mojo back and are once again playing their anti-football as the masters of the nil-nil draw. Some decent chances for both teams, but not much to talk about. Original Prediction: Changsha 0 - 1 Guangzhou.

Jiangsu Sainty 0 - 0 Henan Construction : WRONG
Saturday was all about the nil-nil as upstarts Jiangsu faced off against top of the table Henan. The home side outshot the visitors, but it was Netto's header just wide that was the best scoring chance in the 1st half. Jiangsu dominated the 2nd half chances, but still came up short as both teams walk away with a point and Henan stays on top. Original Prediction: Jiangsu 2 - 3 Henan.


Shenzhen 0 - 1 Hangzhou Greentown : WRONG
Okay, so I have a soft spot for Shenzhen that has been exposed week in, week out. If I go with my heart instead of my brain again this year, I deserve to be punched. Shenzhen is a bad football team, they just escaped going down last year and it would be no surprise if they fall this year. In the rainy conditions in Shenzhen, they failed to convert on a 1st half penalty kick, and then were beaten by an Otto goal minutes into the 2nd half. Original Prediction: Shenzhen 1 - 1 Hangzhou.


Chongqing Lifan 1 - 0 Dalian Shide : WRONG
I thought Dalian's performance last week was a turning point in their season, it seemed like some of their squad were finally starting to come together, however a road defeat in Chongqing is a massive disappointment. Chongqing isn't a very good team, but Guinee is a damn good forward and his bulk and power make him extremely difficult to stop. Good chances fell to him as well as Dalian's Ahn in the 1st half, but it was Guinee's early 2nd half goal that made the difference. The goal was on a penalty kick, coming off a good scoring chance where he was pushed in the back. Dalian tried to get back into it, but didn't have enough to equalize. Original Prediction: Chongqing 0 - 2 Dalian.


Chengdu Blades 0 - 1 Tianjin Teda : RIGHT
Tianjin needed to regroup and facing Chengdu would be a fairly easy way to do that, however they didn't make things easy for themselves. Much of the 1st half was controlled by Chengdu, though Tianjin had a decent counterattack. In the 2nd half, Hao Junmin was able to make some moves on a defender and knock in a goal midway through the half that was enough to secure them 3 points and move them into 2nd place. Original Prediction: Chengdu 1 - 2 Tianjin.


Changchun Yatai 1 - 0 Shanghai Shenhua : WRONG
Yes, I was wrong, but this is one I love to be wrong about. Cao Tianbao's header off a 1st half corner was enough in what was a fairly rough game, as has been Shanghai's trend this year, Changchun received 4 yellow cards and Shanghai received 6, Yu Tao personally received 2 of the cards and so was shown red in the 51st minute. Actually going down a man helped Shanghai briefly as they quickly came up with 2 solid chances, but neither made it past the keeper. Changchun regrouped and made some substitutions and was able to claim a nice victory over Shenhua. Original Prediction: Changchun 1 - 1 Shanghai.


Shaanxi Zhongxin 1 - 0 Beijing Guoan : WRONG
See the full, miserable write-up on this here. Sad...Original Prediction: Shaanxi 0 - 1 Beijing.

Shandong Luneng 1 - 0 Qingdao Zhongneng : RIGHT
The Shandong derby should have been full of fireworks, though as expected Qingdao was a little more pumped up to play in this one. Qingdao went on the attack early and probably should have been given a penalty kick, though Shandong quickly responded with some chances of its own. The lone goal came early in the first half off a beautifully delivered Wang Yongpo free kick from just outside the box. Shandong continued to press, but was unable to get another goal, while Qingdao came up with a few counter attacking opportunities, game ends, Shandong wins, end of story. Original Prediction: Shandong 3 - 1 Qingdao.

2-6 for the week, but maintaining my 21-19 winning record for the season...