The Second Round of the 2015 CFA Cup started today with local Amateur and CL2 sides competing CL1 sides. There were some upsets today with amateur sides Wuhan Xinjiyuan and Wuhan Hongxing and CL2 sides Hebei Elite, Dalian Transcendence, Meizhou Wuhua, and Anhui Litian defeating CL1 sides. There will be three more games tomorrow to close out the round. There were some close calls as well as amateur side Qingdao Kunpeng lost on penalties 10-9 after a 1-1 regulation and amateur side Ningbo Yinbo also lost on penalties 6-5 after a 1-1 draw.
Only one game today in the CFA Cup 3rd Round as Shanghai SIPG defeated CL2 side Dalian Transcendence 2-1 in Dalian. The rest of the games will be tomorrow with all of the lower division teams hosting CSL teams.
Rowdy night in Shenzhen tonight between Shenzhen FC and Beijing Guoan. Fights repeatedly sprung up between supporters of either side throughout the game. Many bottles and drinks were thrown over the police human wall separating the supporters groups. We in green had to be escorted out of the stadium by police at the end of the match.
Hangzhou Greentown needed penalties to beat Amateur side Wuhan Hongxing winning 8-7 on PKs after a 1-1 draw. There were no upsets by CL2 or Amateur sides (CAFL). The five CL1 teams that advanced were Qingdao Jonoon (1-0 win over Changchun Yatai), Beijing BG (1-0 win over Shijiazhuang), Xinjiang (2-1 win over Guangzhou Evergrande), Jiangxi Liansheng (4-0 win over Liaoning), and Hebei CFFC (2-1 PK win over Shanghai Shenxin after 0-0 draw).
Yeah, none of Evergrande's first team made the trip to Xinjiang, and neither did Cannavaro. They're putting all their efforts into ACL and league play. What's actually more surprising to me was that Liaoning got destroyed 4-0 by Jiangxi Liansheng, one of the worst teams in League 1. Liaoning even played most of their first team, apparently.
One game today in CFA Cup with Guizhou Renhe beating CL1 side Jiangxi Liansheng 3-2 to advance to the Quarterfinals. The remaining games will be tomorrow
Some upsets today with Xinjiang claiming another CSL scalp winning 1-0 over Tianjin TEDA and Beijing BG upset Guoan 2-0. The rest of the games were won by CSL sides with Shenhua, Shandong Luneng, Shanghai SIPG, Henan Jianye, and Jiangsu Sainty all advancing. I think it is pretty cool that the underdog gets to host every round, which has worked out well for a side like Xinjiang.
CL1 side Beijing BG advances with a win over CSL side Guizhou Renhe 5-3 in PKs after a goalless draw. Xinjiang's dream run ends with a 3-1 loss to Jiangsu. Shandong and Shanghai Shenhua both advanced on penalties as well. Semi-finals will be two-legs on September 30 and October 21 with Shandong playing Jiangsu and Shenhua playing Beijing BG.
Looks like Shenhua got their revenge against SIPG after getting humiliated 5-0 by them earlier in the season.
In the first leg of the semi-finals today, Jiangsu picks up a huge 2-1 away win over Shandong and CL1 side Beijing BG pick up two vital away goals in their 3-2 loss to Shenhua.
In the CFA Cup Semifinals, CL1 side Beijing BG was not able to pull off the upset as they were beat 4-1 at home by Shenhua and Jiangsu advances 4-1 on aggregate after a 2-0 win over Shandong.