DALIAN, China, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- Shenzhen Jiazhaoye held Shanghai Shenhua to a 0-0 draw in the ninth round of Chinese Super League (CSL) here on Friday.
Both sides had chances to break the deadlock in the first half but missed them all. Shanghai Shenhua midfielder Cao Yunding's left-footed shot hit the post in the seventh minute. Shenzhen almost scored the opener in the last minutes going into the halftime break when Ole Selnaes' free kick was also denied by the crossbar.
In the 69th minute, the Shenzhen side got another scoring opportunity. However, Harold Preciado's close-range shot was saved by Shenhua goalkeeper Zeng Cheng, and then John Mary's follow-up header hit the woodwork once again.
The remainder of the match was controversial after Gao Lin was shown his fourth yellow card of the season in the 71st minute after complaining to the referee. The Chinese international is set to miss Shenzhen's next match against his former club Guangzhou Evergrande next Wednesday.
Shenzhen will also face another huge loss in the clash with defending champions since Mary got a red card and was sent off the pitch in the stoppage time due to his aggressive language to Shanghai head coach Choi Kang-Hee.
"It's a very difficult competition as you can see. We followed the coach's guidance to keep the clean sheet. The draw is acceptable for us," said Shenhua midfielder Zhu Baojie.
The Shenhua side are experiencing a four-match winless streak.
Zhu said they had chances but need more luck in the following matches. "We had few time to adjust in the tournament-format competition. We will try our best in every single match."
After nine games, Shanghai Shenhua are now sitting fourth in the Dalian division table with 12 points, only one point ahead of Shenzhen Jiazhaoye. They will face Shandong Luneng next Wednesday. Enditem
