By Michael Church
HONG KONG (Reuters) – A goal at the end of each half maintained Wuhan Three Towns’ slender lead at the top of the Chinese Super League standings on Tuesday evening as Pedro Morilla’s side handed Beijing Guoan a 2-0 defeat.
Deng Hanwen gave last season’s China League One winners the lead in first-half injury time before Ademilson struck from the penalty spot to ensure Wuhan claimed all three points.
Wuhan moved onto 59 points from 24 games and lead defending champions Shandong Taishan on goal difference after Hao Wei’s title-holders side won 2-0 over Shanghai Shenhua on Monday.
Moises Lima’s penalty put Shandong in front midway through the second half against Shenhua, who slipped to fifth place as a result of the loss, before Song Long struck seven minutes later to put the result beyond doubt.
Shanghai Port consolidated their hold on third with a 2-0 win over Cangzhou Mighty Lions through goals from Paulinho and Chen Chunxin, while Zhejiang FC moved into fourth with a 5-1 thrashing of Guangzhou FC.
That loss leaves the eight-time champions in 17th and five points adrift of safety with 10 games remaining.
Guangzhou City are also in relegation trouble, two points ahead of their cross-city rivals after slipping to a 2-1 loss against Wuhan Yangtze, with Hebei FC still bottom of the standings following a 5-0 loss at the hands of Tianjin Tigers.
Elsewhere, Henan Longmen slipped down to sixth due to their 3-2 defeat by Meizhou Hakka, while Chengdu Rongcheng drew 2-2 with Changchun Yatai and Dalian Pro won 2-0 against Shenzhen FC.
(Reporting by Michael Church in Hong Kong, Editing by Hugh Lawson)
