A Beautiful Day

It's now 2 weeks since that wonderful Saturday late fall afternoon at Gongti, what a wonderful way to end the season.

The mood in the stands was great, everyone was happy and there was a rare spirit inside and outside the venue. The number of people who lined up outside the North Gate in full regalia but without tickets, settling for hanging outside the stadium listening to the match and hearing the sounds from inside was startling. In 16 years the club never won a title and, though on the verge of it on Saturday, the job was far from being finished. The fans were in full voice, louder than I've ever heard Gongti before and from the very beginning, the team responded with a goal 2 minutes in.

From that point on, it was pretty much over. Any fans worried about the pressure being too much for this team doesn't know how much players like Tao Wei and Xu Yunlong have been through, or how strong Matic and Yang Zhi were mentally. Only up 1-nil,not overwhelming, but early on the news went through the stands that Shenzhen also got an early goal, it seemed we were in the clear. One more goal for us in the final moments of the 1st half put away the match, again thanks to Martinez, the celebrations could begin.

Two more goals in the 2nd half, through Martinez once again and Zhou Ting, finished off an overwhelmed Hangzhou squad, while Shenzhen beat Henan 3-1. The celebration began on the Guoan bench with 5 minutes left and when the final whistle went, it was pandemonium amongst the fans and players. The fans remained inside the stadium, singing and just soaking it in for over an hour after the match, then took the celebration to the streets, bars, and little restaurants all over the city.

A truly amazing Halloween that I'll never forget, it took 16 years to get there, hopefully it won't take that long before we get to celebrate again. I think I said everything I could about how meaningful the match was before the game, now I can only say, still 2 weeks on, I'm walking around happier than usual because Beijing is the champions. I've never enjoyed Gloria Gaynor's "I will Survive" (played over and over before and after the match) and Queen's "We Are the Champions" that much before.

For pictures, head to Beijing Guoan - Hangzhou Greentown photos.

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...

CSL Matchday 5 Preview

Here we go again, 12-12 on the season, hoping for a winning weekend. We've got CSL football, the FA Cup, the Stanley Cup playoffs, and the NBA too, what a weekend for sports. But by far the most exciting game of the weekend will be the first one, let's do this thing:

4.17 19:30 Shandong Luneng - Beijing Guoan
Unfortunately (I shouldn't be using that word), I have something called a job, which means I'll be watching this one from Beijing instead of sitting in Jinan, but such is life. For the full match preview, go here. I'm in a pickle, I want to predict this one for Guoan, but I also don't want to jinx them, therefore, its a draw. Prediction: Shandong 1 - 1 Beijing.

4.17 19:30 Tianjin Teda - Jiangsu Sainty
What am I to think of these 2 sides? Can Tianjin's defeat last week be ignored, chalked up to the bad weather? Jiangsu's squad isn't looking like a newly promoted team, they're looking solid, and it seems almost every year a newly promoted team makes a respectable showing. It's going to be an interesting match, but I think Tianjin's just got more firepower. Prediction: Tianjin 2 - 1 Jiangsu.

4.17 19:45 Shanghai Shenhua - Shenzhen
I really hate Shanghai and really hope Shenzhen can earn a result in this one, I really want to predict that they will, but....I just don't see it happening. Shenzhen will be going to Hongkou, a tough place to play, and they just don't have the horses. Prediction: Shanghai 1 - 0 Shenzhen.

4.18 14:30 Dalian Shide - Hangzhou Greentown
Both these sides have 2 wins and 2 losses and both won last week. Dalian isn't what they used to be, but they still have a lot of talent, and while Otto is a heck of a player, Hangzhou's squad isn't strong enough to get this tough win on the road. Prediction: Dalian 2 - 0 Hangzhou.

4.18 15:30 Changchun Yatai - Shaanxi Zhongxin
Changchun was a sleeper pick for this year's league title, but they've looked far from impressive in this year's first 4 matches. Shaanxi is always going to give you a difficult match, but they are a few players short of being a title contender. Changchun's struggles will continue as Shaanxi has just enough to hold them off. Prediction: Changchun 1 - 1 Shaanxi.

4.18 16:00 Henan Construction - Changsha Jinde
It had to happen at some point this season and this is the week it does, Changsha will finally leave the comforts of home and travel to Zhengzhou. Changsha earned their 1st win of the season against Tianjin last week, but that was an odd game due to the torrential downpour. Henan is high flying with 3 wins and is currently sitting top of the table, alongside Tianjin. I can't see Changsha pulling off 2 upsets in a row and even their defensive minded football won't be enough against Netto and Olisadebe. Prediction: Henan 1 - 0 Changsha.

4.18 19:30 Guangzhou Baiyunshan - Chongqing Lifan
Chonqing has some attacking skill, but beyond that, they aren't a very good team and this newly promoted team could be yo-yoing back down fairly quickly. Guangzhou is a mid-table side with some definite talent. Prediction: Guangzhou 2 - 0 Chongqing

4.19 15:30 Qingdao Zhongneng - Chengdu Blades
The Sunday spotlight falls to these two average sides as they go head to head in Qingdao. These two are both hoping not to be relegated this season, but I have a feeling (more just a hope, but oh well) Chengdu's going down. Prediction: Qingdao 2 - 1 Chengdu.

So there you go, I have a feeling a number of these will go wrong, but let's hope all the action isn't just on Friday night.