Changchun Yatai extended their lead at the top of the Chinese Super League to 6 points with a hard-fought 2-1 at home to Xiamen Lanshi whilst champiosn Shandong Luneng crashed to a 2nd defeat in the space of 3 days.
Former Udinese defender Samuel Cabellero put the north-easterners ahead after only 9 minutes. Six minutes later however, the visitors were back on level terms thanks to Zou Yougen.
The scoreline stayed the same until midway through the 2nd half as Du Zhengyu got the winner from the spot, to add to his 2 goal haul from Changchun's 4-0 midweek win.
Shandong Luneng are perhaps still feeling the effects of their 6-1 thrashing at the hands of Beijing Guo'an Wednesday as the champions lost 2-1 at Liaoning FC.
Wang Xinxin opened the scoring for the hosts on the hour and a minute before the end, Yang Yu sealed the triumph though there is still time for Li Jinyu to grab a consolation for Shandong.
In the evening's other fixture, Tianjin Kangshifu moved up to 3rd with a 2-0 triumph over Wuhan Huanghelou.
Rafael Benitez dismissed the uproar that marred the end of Liverpool's ill-tempered draw in Rotterdam tonight against Feyenoord.
The Liverpool manager saw 6 of his players booked, there were 9 cautions in all during the 1-1 draw, and captain Steven Gerrard come close to being sent off for a shove in the face of Feyenoord's Theo Lucius as the game deteriorated into a melee involving most of the players on the pitch.
Gerrard had earlier grabbed Liverpool's equaliser however was furious with a late tackle from young winger Royston Drenthe, the hosts' 1st half scorer.
Lucius had earlier twice pushed Daniel Agger as tempers flared.
Benitez said, "I do not think Steven will be in trouble, there is a lot going on out on the pitch. It was hard to see what was going on and I would would like to review the match before commenting. However, I would need to see the replay to decide what happened, however maybe you should talk about everything with the referee. I felt the team played okay, we had some chances however would not score. In terms of football, we were all right. As for the tournament, this was a very strange one."
Benitez was clearly not impressed by the standard of the event that included a very poor Shanghai side and a competitive however defensive host club.
He added, "Maybe these kind of games are more difficult with a local referee in charge. They become even more difficult. I am not bothered really about what went on and how the lads were treated, it is not the end of the world."
And Benitez praised Gerrard's contribution and goal, coming after his excellent effort in Friday's 2-0 triumph over Shanghai.
Benitez said, "Steven showed us what he can do, there is another goal for him. However, the team also, they created chances and played well. Steven though will normally play more games this season in a central role. We have got a lot of wingers now. We have confidence, we have prepared well and have a better team than last season, so hopefully we can start with a triumph in the league at Villa on Saturday."
03 August 2007
Liverpool's record signing Fernando Torres scored his 1st goal for the club in their penultimate pre season friendly against Shanghai Shenhau.
The £20 million forward picked up a Yossi Benayoun pass and chipped it home as Liverpool recorded a 2-0 triumph in the Rotterdam tournament.
Captain Steve Gerrard sent a curling 20-yard shot home for the second.
"Getting off the mark will have given Torres confidence heading into the new season," mentioned Reds manager Rafael Benitez.
"I was very pleased with Fernando, it was very important for him to score his 1st goal for Liverpool. When Peter Crouch 1st joined us, everyone was asking when he was going to score. Torres has now got that and that takes the load off. Both goals were really good and I was very pleased with the display of my players."
Liverpool will aim to round off their pre season programme with a good display against hosts Feyenoord Sunday.
30 July 2007
Beijing has started a crackdown on disruptive spectators at sporting events by detaining a 20 year old man who organised fellow football fans to shout abuse at matches, state media has reported.
As the one year countdown to the Olympics Games approaches, officials are concerned that rude or disruptive behaviour by Beijingers might mar next August's sporting spectacle.
The unemployed man, surnamed Hao, launched a website called "Capital JM Union" in March and called on Beijing Guoan fans to join him in abusing referees and other teams in the salty local slang known as "Jing Ma", the Shanghai Daily reported.
"The Jing Ma is a traditional cultural heritage of the old capital ... We loyal Guoan fans who like the Jing Ma are attending every match and following the organiser's instructions," police cited one posting on the site as saying.
"Let our Jing Ma dynamite Fengtai Stadium!" mentioned another posting that has not yet been deleted.
For "disrupting the order of major public events" the man was detained for 7 days and banned from entering Guoan's temporary home at Fengtai Stadium and all other football venues for 12 months.
5 of his fellow fans were fined and warned by the police.
The official Xinhua news agency mentioned Beijing police were stepping up their work on disruption at sporting events and the name of anybody breaking the law would from now on be recorded.
22 June 2007
Queens Park Rangers were fined 20,000 pounds and given a further 20,000 pound suspended fine for a brawl in a friendly against a Chinese Olympic side in February.
The 2nd division club admitted that a charge of failing to ensure its "players and/or officials conducted themselves in an orderly fashion and refrained from violent and/or threatening and/or provocative behaviour," the FA mentioned Friday.
QPR assistant coach Richard Hill was found guilty of a charge of violent conduct and suspended from all football and football management until Sept 30. He has 14 days to appeal.
The more fine is suspended until May 31 next year.
The brawl erupted in a training ground game on February 7 when Shanghai Shenhua forward Gao Lin clashed with a Rangers player. Gao mentioned he was provoked and failed to control himself.
China's Zheng Tao was knocked unconscious and taken to a hospital with a broken jaw. Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher abandoned the game.
7 members of the China team were sent home early from the tour following the fight. Police launched an investigation, whilst Hill was suspended by the west London club.
14 June 2007
Sun Xiang, the 1st Chinese to play in the Champions League, is on the brink of joining Dutch 1st division club Vitesse Arnhem, the Shanghai Daily reported Thursday.
The defender returned to China when PSV Eindhoven failed to take up an option on a 3 year permanent deal in May, however sources at Shanghai Shenhua mentioned the club is close to agreeing a deal to send Sun back to the Netherlands.
Sun is keen on the move, believing that staying in China will lead to a "lack of motivation and stop me making progress", the paper quoted him as saying.
14 June 2007
Shanghai Shenhua became the 1st Chinese club to win the East Asian Champions Cup by triumphing over Japanese champions Urawa Reds 3-1 in their final round-robin match in Jinan.
First half goals from player of the tournament Li Gang, former Colombia forward Hamilton Ricard and defender Chang Lin helped the Shanghai seal the title on goal difference.
Hosts Shandong Luneng topped the standings going into the final round of games however lost 2-1 to South Korean champions Seongnam Chunma Wednesday.
Shanghai, runners up in China last season, were invited to make up the numbers for the 5th edition of the annual event for the club champions of China, Japan and South Korea.
