On June 23rd, the flame of the AFC Champions League play-offs was reignited, and Shanghai Seaport lost 0-1 to Kaya in a tumultuous match, with Kaya's goalkeeper Menji scoring with a brilliant header at the 17-minute mark. The loss for Seaport also sealed their fate of failing to qualify for the 2021 AFC Champions League main round, with only Guangzhou and Beijing Guoan still fighting in the AFC Champions League this season among the Chinese Super League (CSL) teams.
Looking back at Seaport's performance last season, they finished 4th in the Chinese Super League and were able to qualify for the AFC Champions League on a substitute basis due to the end of the season for Chinese Super League champions Suning. Although Seaport is fielding an alternate and reserve squad this time around to face Filipino side Kaya, the prospects for advancement are still not promising.
In the match, Kaya team firmly controlled the rhythm of the field with its strong strength. In the 17th minute, Kaya got a corner kick opportunity, the ball flew precisely to the penalty area, in front of the goal of the keen sense of smell Mensi grabbed the drop point, jumped up high, a header, the ball is like an arrow flying into the net, the seaport is stuck in a passive situation of 0-1.
At the end of the match, Harbour players played well on the field and attacked aggressively, but they could not break through the opponent's goal. After 90 minutes of fierce battle, both sides ended up with a 0-1 draw.
Shanghai Seaport Starting XI: 35- Guo Tong, 23- Fu Huan, 24- Lei Wenjie, 29- Nie Meng, 45- Zhu Jiayi, 48- Zhang Enger, 50- Qianhao, 31- Gao Haisheng, 44- Zheng Zelong, 47- Zhou Zheng, 39- Hu Jinghang.
Kaya starting lineup: 25-Louis Casas, 4-Shinya Omura, 15-Marco Casambre, 19-Carlisle Mitchell, 23-Simone Rota, 44-Oddi Menji, 8-Marwin Angelis, 14-Ryo Fujii, 21-Dylan De Bruycker, 7-Jovin Bedic, 20-Daizo Horikoshi.
