Capello still waiting for first win as Jiangsu held
By Michael Church
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Fabio Capello's wait for his first Chinese Super League win continues after his Jiangsu Suning side were held to a 0-0 draw by Beijing Guoan on Monday evening.
The Italian took over at the Nanjing-based club earlier in the month following Choi Yong-soo's resignation, but he has yet to turn around the team's fortunes, with the draw against Beijing the second game without a win in the league for the former England manager.
The point picked up was not enough to move Jiangsu out of the relegation zone, with Capello's team moving onto nine points from their first 14 games. Jiangsu have won just once so far in the league campaign.
"I've only been here for something like 10 days, but I have seen an improvement in the team," said Capello.
"I am quite confident about our future."
Shanghai SIPG, meanwhile, overcame the loss of Brazilian striker Oscar following his eight game suspension by the Chinese Football Association to hand Henan Jianye a 4-1 thrashing and keep leaders Guangzhou Evergrande in sight.
Eddi Gomez scored an own goal before Odil Ahmedov, Elkeson and Wu Lei found the target for Andre Villas-Boas' team. The Portuguese coach refused to discuss Oscar's absence after the game, however.
"It was a very entertaining game," said the former Chelsea and Tottenham coach. "I am very happy with the players' performances. We deserved the win."
Oscar sat out the game due to the ban handed to him by Chinese football authorities for his role in a melee that broke out during his side's draw with Guangzhou R&F last weekend.
Guangzhou Evergrande maintained their four-point gap at the summit as goals from Ricardo Goulart and Alan Carvalho ensured Luiz Felipe Scolari's team saw off third-placed Hebei CFFC, who are now five points behind SIPG in second.
Carlos Tevez scored his first goal in the Chinese Super League since March to give Shanghai Shenhua the lead in their 2-0 win over Yanbian Funde, only for the Argentinian to be pulled out of the game early with injury concerns.
The former Manchester United and Juventus striker put his side in front after 13 minutes but was replaced eight minutes into the second half with a recurrence of the calf injury that has blighted his time in China so far.
"Tevez's goal was very smart," said Shenhua coach Gustavo Poyet. "But he didn't feel great with his calf after the goal, so he asked to be substituted off. I don't think his injury is serious, but we will see what the doctor says."
Guangzhou R&F picked up their first win since April with a 2-1 victory over Tianjin Teda, while Alexandre Pato was on target as Tianjin Quanjian secured a 2-1 win over Liaoning.
Diego Tardelli's injury time goal earned Shandong Luneng a dramatic 2-2 draw with Guizhou Zhicheng, and Chongqing Lifan shared the points in their meeting with Changchun Yatai.
(Reporting by Michael Church; Editing by Hugh Lawson)