Spoils go to Shenhua in thrilling derby cup clash
Print Edition
SHANGHAI Greenland Shenhua overcame city rival SIPG in a penalty shootout in a goal-filled Chinese Football Association Cup quarterfinal match at Hongkou Football Stadium last night.
The sides fought out an exciting 3-3 draw in normal time before the match went directly to penalties.
SIPG striker Lu Wenjun missed his team’s fourth strike — the only miss in the 10 shots, handing victory to Shenhua.
Currently 6th in the CSL, winning the CFA Cup seems to be the more likely route for Shenhua to clinch a spot in next year’s Asian Champions League, especially given the early cup eliminations of strong rivals Guangzhou Evergrande and Beijing Guo’an.
“We had our supporters worried, and should have won in the 90 minutes,” said Shenhua’s French manager Francis Gillot.
“But we conceded too many goals in the latter stages... Considering the number of chances the teams created, the victory should be Shenhua’s,” added Gillot
SIPG manager Sven-Goran Ericksson praised his team’s performance, describing it as an “honorable loss”.
“It was very good football. We created many chances, hitting the post twice in first half... The three goals were conceded too easily, but that’s football.”
Ericksson said the team would now focus on the league. The sides meet in the CSL at the same stadium on Sunday.
Shenhua faces second tier league side Beijing Beikong in the CFA Cup semifinal, while the other semi features CSL sides Shandong Luneng and Jiangsu Sainty.
Shenhua captain Giovanni Moreno scored the opener after 7 minutes in spectacular fashion. With his back to goal, the Colombian sent the ball into the left top corner with an astonishing bicycle kick, before a crowd of 25,700.
Shenhua increased its advantage when Wang Yun’s shot flew over unprepared SIPG goalkeeper Yan Junling into the net, before SIPG midfielder Wu Lei pulled one back in the 35th minute for the CSL leader.
In the second half, Ghanaian striker Asamoah Gyan equalized for SIPG in the 55th minute, before Senegal forward Demba Ba restored the advantage to Shenhua 15 minutes later.
Dario Conca came to SIPG’s rescue, scoring with a free kick with four minutes left on clock.
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