Defending Champion Drushed in Chinese FA Cup semi-finalDefending Champion Shandong Luneng failed to make home advantage count Thursday in the first leg of the Chinese Football Association Cup in Tai'an, where the famous Mount Tai lies, in East China's Shandong province, according to Friday's Chinadaily.They lost to Chongqing Longxin 1-3, suggesting that their chances of entering the cup finals were very thin. The host team, plagued by injuries all the season, didn't seem to be in good shape, and made lots of mistakes, sports experts said. However, the visiting team put on an excellent performance and dominated the match. No.20, a Bulgaria striker, staged on a hat-trick to give the home team an embarrassing defeat. In another semi-final match held in Wuhan the same day, Beijing Guo'an, FA Cup champion in 1997 and 1998, scored a commanding victory over the host Wuhan Red Heart. The host team, a second division crew, is widely viewed as a "dark horse" in this year's FA Cup as it eliminated Liaoning Fushun, last year's runners-up in Chinese first division league in the home-and-away quarter-final and kicked out Sichuan Quanxing, which currently ranks 5th in the first division league. After Thursday's match, most people blieve Chongqing Longxin and Beijing Guo'an will be the finalists to compete for FA Championship. The second leg of the quarter-final is to open on Sunday in Beijing and Chongqing, two Chinese municipalities. |
| People's Daily Online --- http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/ |