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Obafemi Still Missing In China League

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Nigeria’s Obafemi Martins was an absentee in the 10-man Shanghai Greenland Shenhua 1-1 home draw with Fabio Cannavaro’s Tianjin Quanjian in Saturday’s Chinese Super League contest

Tianjin’s Brazilian striker Alexandre Pato had the chance to win three points for the visitors but fluffed his penalty close to the end of the match.

Shanghai, the team Obafemi Martins registered for, was a man down after midfielder Qin Sheng was sent off in the 24th minute for stamping on the foot of Tianjin’s Belgium midfielder Axel Witsel. Despite playing with 10 men, it was Shenhua that went ahead through Colombian Giovanni Moreno, who received the ball in front of the Tianjin’s box in the 74th minute, and blasted in the opener.

But Tianjin came back in the 84th minute when Wang Yongpo’s corner kick found Witsel in the box. The Belgian volleyed the ball past Shenhua goalie Li Shuai for the equalizer.

Two minutes later, Tianjin won a penalty after Wang Xiaolong’s pass in the box hit the hand of Shenhua defender Wang Lin. Pato stepped up to take the penalty but could only manage to blast it over the bar.

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Odion Ighalo’s Changchun Yatai which lost 1-5 to Shanghai SIPG last week will on Sunday host Guangzhou R&F. Last Friday, Mikel Obi’s Tianjin Teda played goalless with Jiangsu Sainty.

Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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