Nigeria international Obafemi Martins was on target for his Chinese Super League side Shanghai Shenhua Friday, but his 45th minute goal did not stop the side from losing 3-2 away to Guangzhou Evergrande.
Brazilian import Paulinho had shot the homers into the lead in the 24th minute, but it took only five minutes for visiting Shenshua to earn an equaliser through Columbian import Fredy Guarín. With five minutes added time in the first half however, Martins rose to the occasion to increase the tally for the visitors. Penalty advantage for Guangzhou Evergrande in the 71st minute was a major boost for the hosts who had resolved to play defensive to avoid rampaging martins and his teammates from causing further damage.
The 71st minute penalty converted by Li Jianbin, became a major boost as Yu Hanchao further grabbed a goal in the 86th minute to finally seal victory for the Luiz Felipe Scolari tutored side. Guangzhou Evergrande lead the league table with 19 points in eight matches played so far while Shanghai Shenhua are 7th on the log with 10 points in seven matches. Martins has so far grabbed three goals this season and look determined to hit more shots on target to the delight of coach Gustavo Poyet.