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Shanghai, Dalian open Champions League with win
(afcchampionsleague.com)
Updated: 2006-03-09 14:53
Dalian Shide and Shanghai Shenhua, Champions and runners-up of Chinese Super
League, beat a pair of Vietnamese clubs Wednesday evening to open
up their Asian Champions League tour with comfort wins.
Dalian Shide's Zou
Jie dribbles past goalia of Da Nang to score.
[yahoo] | First-half goals from Zou Jie and
Ji Mingyi ensured a 2-0 away win for Dalian in Group E,
while Xie Hui's double at home helped Shanghai to a 3-1
victory in Group G where rest two teams were stripped of matches for
delayed registration.
A brace from former international striker Xie Hui put Shanghai Shenhua on the
cusp of qualifying for the quarterfinals of the 2006 AFC Champions League with
the Chinese side registering a comfortable 3-1 win over Dong Tam Long
An.
The victory over Da Nang in their AFC Champions League opener was not
enough to spare Dalian Shide, eight-time champions in China, from the
wrath of head coach Vladimir Petrovic, who felt most of his players didn’t
approach the game as positively as they should have.
"I'm satisfied with the result but I feel disappointed about my players'
performance during the first 40 minutes,” Petrovic said.“What's more, I also
feel depressed with my player's seriousness during the game. I think today just
two of my players, Zhang Yaokun and Ji Mingyi, played well.”
Petrovic was more upbeat about the Group E opponents saying:
“Before the match, I didn't even think that Da Nang could play such good
football. They have surprised me a lot.
"In my opinion, the right winger Le Quang Cuong was the best player in the Da
Nang squad today. Just a few more things about Da Nang; they should improve
their left wing if they want more success in the V-League."
Da Nang coach seemed more upbeat in defeat than Petrovic was with the win,
praising the fattitude shown against the 2003 ACL semi-finalists.
“First of all, I must say that I'm really happy with my players' fighting
spirit. As I have said before Da Nang can be the loser in terms of the final
score but we cannot lose to any team in the AFC Champions League in terms of
mentality.
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