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10-man Shenhua tie Tianjin Quanjian 1-1 in incident-packed match

By Ma Yue | March 12, 2017, Sunday | Online Edition

TEN-MAN Shanghai Greenland Shenhua was held to a 1-1 draw by Fabio Cannavaro’s Tianjin Quanjian at Hongkou Football Stadium during their Chinese Super League clash on Saturday.

Tianjin’s Brazilian striker Alexandre Pato had the chance to win three points for the visitors but fluffed his penalty close to the end of the match. Both coaches said they were happy with one point after an incident-packed match.

Shanghai was a man down after midfielder Qin Sheng was sent off in the 24th minute for stamping on the foot of Tianjin’s Belgium midfielder Axel Witsel. Tianjin created several chances after that but failed to make an impact. At the post-match press conference Cannavaro insisted that when a host team loses a player, they are more likely to be emotionally united, making it difficult for the rival team.

Despite playing with 10 men, it was Shenhua that went ahead through Colombian Giovanni Moreno, who received the ball in front of the Tianjin’s box in the 74th minute, and blasted in the opener.

But Tianjin came back in the 84th minute when Wang Yongpo’s corner kick found Witsel in the box. The Belgian volleyed the ball past Shenhua goalie Li Shuai for the equalizer.

Two minutes later, Tianjin won a penalty after Wang Xiaolong’s pass in the box hit the hand of Shenhua defender Wang Lin. Pato stepped up to take the penalty but could only manage to blast it over the bar.

Tianjin had just one point from the opening two rounds of the CSL matches – both of them away from home.

Referee Li Haixin was under the spotlight for a few controversial decisions, handing out one red card and seven yellow cards in the match.

Minutes before Tianjin’s equalizer, Witsel struck Shenhua’s Colombian midfielder Fredy Guarin with his elbow. Guarin hit the ground but referee Li only showed a yellow to the Belgium international, angering the home fans.

“I’m the coach and I lead the team. You are reporters and you are free to comment (on the referee). I don’t want to steal your jobs.” Shenhua manager Gus Poyet remarked when he was asked to comment on the referee’s performance in the match.

Poyet said the result was acceptable given that Shenhua was playing with a disadvantage. But he did say that Qin’s offence in the box, which led to the red card, was “unnecessary.”

“Both teams picked up a lot of yellow cards in the match. Controlling emotions is a complicated issue, and our team should have done better,” said the Uruguayan. “But this is our players’ character. If you force them to control themselves, it might affect their performance.”

As a CSL newcomer, Cannavaro’s team showed quality in the match. Its well-organized defense left little room for Shenhua’s star striker Carlos Tevez to maneuver. The Argentine had a goal and an assist in Shenhua’s 4-0 victory over Jiangsu Suning a week ago.

Poyet did not want to comment too much on Tevez, saying the Argentine was given a different role compared to the previous match. “He put into use his personal ability and contributed to the team today,” said Poyet.

Cannavaro defended Pato despite his costly miss. The Brazilian struggled against Guangzhou R&F on his CSL debut a week ago.

“In football, a lot of players miss penalties, so I cannot comment on that much,” said the Italian. “I regard it as a misfortune though I’m generally happy with the team’s performance.”

After the first two rounds of CSL, Shenhua has four points – two adrift of their city rival Shanghai SIPG and Shandong Luneng.

SIPG beat Yanbian Funde 2-0 on Friday match at Shanghai Stadium thanks to goals from Lu Wenjun and Wu Lei. Uzbek international Odil Ahmedov replaced Brazilian striker Elkeson in the match to partner with Oscar and Hulk. SIPG will take on Japan’s Urawa Red Diamonds in the AFC Champions League group match at Shanghai Stadium on Wednesday.

Also on Friday, Shandong Luneng beat defending champion Guangzhou Evergrande 2-1.

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