David Silva scores on debut as Sha Tian held by Standard Wanderers
Spanish World Cup winner David Silva scored on his debut for Sha Tian in a 1-1 draw with Standard Wanderers in the Hong Kong Premier League. Silva was named man of the match. The game was played in front of a full house of 4,600 at Kai Tak Youth Sports Ground.
Spanish World Cup winner David Silva scored on his debut for Sha Tian as the Hong Kong Premier League side were held to a 1-1 draw by Standard Wanderers on Saturday. The match was played in front of a full house of 4,600 spectators at the Kai Tak Youth Sports Ground.
Silva, who won the 2010 World Cup with Spain, started the game and was involved in several passes as well as dealing with free kicks and corners in a first half that ended goalless.
After the break, Standard Wanderers players were judged to have handled the ball inside the restricted area. Following a VAR review, the referee awarded a 12-yard free kick. Silva stepped up and scored in the 56th minute to give Sha Tian a 1-0 lead.
Sha Tian team-mates Zhao Zhengyu and Guiyu Hu later missed two chances to extend the lead, before Standard Wanderers' Ibrahim took advantage of a counter-attack to score from inside the restricted area, levelling the match at 1-1.
In the 79th minute, Silva was tripped by an opponent and responded by pushing him. Both players received yellow cards. Sha Tian's other foreign player Ansa, who was already on a yellow card, later executed an overhead kick inside the restricted area but struck an opponent in the head, earning a second yellow card and a red card, leaving his team to play with one man fewer. A few minutes later, Silva was substituted off the field to warm applause from the fans.
Both sides traded attacks and defences in the final stages but neither could change the scoreline. The match ended in a 1-1 draw, with each team taking one point. Silva was named man of the match.