AFC Champions League Elite
Leonardo gave Kevin Muscat’s side a 23rd minute lead before an own goal by Thomas Aquilina three minutes later put Shanghai in control with Prince Ampem adding a third in the 51st minute.
Patrick Wood’s 58th minute strike gave Newcastle a glimmer of hope and Xavier Bertoncello’s curler set up an intriguing final 10 minutes but Li Xinxiang’s volley sealed the win for Shanghai Port.
The result moves Shanghai Port onto seven points from their first four matches while Newcastle remain rooted to the bottom of the 16-team standings without a point.
Shanghai Port showed their intent in the opening quarter, pressuring a Newcastle Jets defence that had conceded 15 times in the previous three matches in the AFC Champions League Elite.
Oscar Melendo’s looping strike from the edge of the area in the 12th minute caught out goalkeeper James Delianov only to cannon off the crossbar and bounce to safety in an early scare for the home side.
Encouraged by that near miss, the Chinese Super League side steadily cranked up the pressure as the half wore on, Matheus Vital seeing his shot from 20 yards out parried clear by Delianov in the 21st minute while Leonardo headed wide from close range a minute later.
The Brazilian made up for that miss as the halfway point in the opening period approached, peeling away from his marker to head Prince Ampem’s in-swinging cross from the right into the top corner.
Three minutes later the visitors added a second when the ball dropped into the path of Melendo and his volleyed centre from the right was redirected past Delianov by Aquilina as he slid in.
MD4: Newcastle Jets FC (AUS) v Shanghai Port FC (CHN)
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Joe Lolley and Bertoncello both threatened late in the half for Newcastle but, six minutes into the second half, Shanghai Port extended their lead.
Leonardo’s pass sliced through the Newcastle defence to find Ampem on the left and, after stepping inside his marker, the Ghanaian shot across Delianov and into the far corner.
Wood pulled one back for the home side in the 58th minute with a clinical left-foot finish that beat Yan Junling low and to his left.
The former Sydney FC forward was denied a second by Yan eight minutes later with a fine recovery save after an under-hit back-pass left Wood one-on-one with the Shanghai Port goalkeeper, who scrambled to palm the ball wide.
Bertoncello expertly bent in the second with his right 10 minutes from time as the rain started to pour down and the conditions played their part as Li Xinxiang hit his side’s fourth, sliding onto Yang Xi’s flighted ball over the top to volley home.
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