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Cahill and Ba net to topple leaders

Shanghai Daily, July 16, 2015

• Shanghai Shenhua's Bai Jiajun (L) and Beijing Guoan's Yu Dabao vied for the ball.

  Demba Ba scored his first goal for Shanghai as Greenland Shenhua pulled off a stunning 3-1 Chinese Super League victory over long-time rival and league leader Beijing Guo'an last night.

  Shenhua's ex-English Premier League trio of Ba, Tim Cahill and Mohamed Sissoko, as well as Greece defender Avraam Papadopoulos, lit up the packed Hongkou Football Stadium, contributing to all the three goals.

  It was Ba's first match in front of the home fans after joining Shenhua during the mid-season transfer. Shenhua players seemed a bit dependent on their new teammate, trying to pass the ball to Ba to finish off the attacks. But neither side managed to create many chances in the first half an hour.

  Shenhua's opener came in the 39th minute. Sissoko passed the ball to Cahill, who passed it on to Ba on the right wing. Ba's shot from near the bottom line was blocked by Beijing goalie Yang Zhi but Shenhua captain Wang Yun was on hand to stab in the rebound.

  Sissoko picked up a foot injury seven minutes into the second half, and was replaced by Gao Di. With Beijing looking for chinks in Shenhua's armor following the adjustment in its defense, Cahill scored in the 57th to give the home side some breathing space. It was the Australian's fifth goal in his last six matches.

  Ba's goal came in the 69th, following a long pass from Papadopoulos. The Ivory Coast striker beat goalie Yang on a one-on-one chance. Dejan Damjanovic pulled one back for Beijing two minutes later.

  The game turned a bit violent in the last ten minutes with players from both sides continuously getting physical with each other. Shenhua's French manager Francis Gillot was ordered to leave the pitch after seemingly preventing Beijing defender Zhou Ting from picking up the ball in injury time. Zhou was shown a red card for pushing Gillot.

  "Look, there are more than 25,000 people in the stadium. Today we dominated the game," said Cahill, likening the Shenhua-Guo'an clash to a derby between Everton and city rival Liverpool. "This is what football is about. It's a special memory not only for us but also for fans."

  Beijing manager Gregorio Manzano said the poor condition of the Hongkou Stadium pitch affected his team's performance. "It's the worst pitch we have played on this year," said the Spaniard.

  Hongkou's turf seemed half torn after a musical concert was held at the venue on Monday night.

  The victory lifted Shenhua to 6th in the CSL standings on 26 points. Beijing still leads with 39 points after 19 rounds — a point more than Shanghai SIPG, which meets Tianjin Teda at Shanghai Stadium tonight and has played a game less.

  Defending champion Guangzhou Evergrande is second on 38 points after a 1-1 draw with Henan Jianye last night.

  SIPG announced yesterday that its new signing Asamoah Gyan will replace Ivorian striker Evrard Kouassi. The Ghana captain, a mid-season transfer signing, was given the jersey number of 35.

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