Shandong Taishan players celebrate after scoring a goal in the Chinese Football Association Cup quarterfinals against Henan in Jinan, east China's Shandong Province, August 21, 2024. /CFP
Shandong Taishan beat Henan 3-1 at home on Wednesday to advance to the semifinals of the Chinese Football Association (CFA) Cup.
Shandong scored early in the eighth minute when Bi Jinhao turned a cross by Xie Wenneng into a goal with a header. Seven minutes later, Marcel netted for the time since joining Taishan in July.
Shandong extended their lead to 3-0 in the 66th minute when Gao Zhunyi set up Valeri Qazaishvili. Although Zhong Yihao scored for Henan four minutes later, his effort came too late to reverse the situation for his side.
Taishan secured their third win in seven days and reached the CFA Cup semifinals for the seventh consecutive year. They will face Chengdu Rongcheng for a spot in the final.
Chengdu Rongcheng players celebrate after scoring a goal in the Chinese Football Association Cup quarterfinals against Nanjing City in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, August 21, 2024. /CFP
Chengdu defeated Nanjing City from second-tier China League One 2-1 in Wednesday's other CFA Cup quarterfinal in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province.
Chengdu were awarded a penalty kick in the 16th minute after Zhou Yang's pass hit Wang Hao in the arm. But Wei Shihao's shot was blocked by Nanjing goalkeeper Qi Yuxi.
Wei made up for his miss before the end of the first half, after receiving the ball on the edge of the goal area and blowing it into the net with a volley to giving his side a 1-0 lead.
Felipe extended Chengdu's lead to two goals in the 67th minute by heading Yang Shuai's cross from the left into the home side's goal. Dong Honglin netted for Nanjing in the 82 minute, but the hosts couldn't come up with an equalizer to tie the score and Rongcheng progressed to the semifinals.