WITH its three key foreign imports continuing to sit out of matches, Shanghai Shenhua managed to hold Hangzhou Greentown 0-0 in an away game last night and come back with a point.
The draw was good enough for Shenhua to move a spot up in the Chinese Super League table to 14 in the 16-team league. Shenhua started the season with six minus points for fixing a match in 2003.
Shenhua's best chance came in the 32nd minute when forward Firas Khatib beat the offside trap after receiving a pass from Cao Yunding. But the Syrian chose to dribble past the goalkeeper and was unable to find the net.
The second half was lackluster with neither side managing to create any chances.
"I'm very satisfied with the performance of my players. As I said last time, I have 27 players and they can play when I need them," said Shenhua's coach Sergio Batista after the game. "Although it is unfortunate that we were unable to play some players, I believe the club will solve the problem soon and the players will return."
The Argentine coach said Shenhua would have been sitting higher up in the table but for the negative points.
"We always want three points - home and away. The team was in good shape today and the draw is a good result for us," Batista said.
Meanwhile, the ongoing salary dispute continued without any progress.
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