SHANGHAI SIPG was held to a goalless draw by K League champion Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors on Tuesday during their AFC Champions League quarterfinals first leg match at Shanghai Stadium.

    SIPG was missing its summer purchase, Brazilian striker Hulk, and Argentine playmaker Dario Conca due to injuries.

    Former champion Al Ain was also held to a goalless stalemate by Uzbekistan’s Lokomotiv in the sapping heat of the UAE in the West Asian leg of the tournament.

    The powerfully-built Hulk played just 21 minutes of soccer before being injured on his debut July 11 after a high-profile 55 million euros (US$61 million) transfer from Zenit St. Petersburg.

    The Shanghai side’s coach, former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson, had hoped at the weekend that Hulk might be fit to make his comeback in the Champions League clash.

    But Hulk’s name was absent from the teamsheet Tuesday along with that of another key player, Conca, who could be out for the season, the club said, after sustaining a knee injury in a domestic match Friday.

    The first decent chance did not fall until the 25th minute when a long ball was expertly-controlled by Chinese international forward Wu Lei whose square pass into the box fell just short of his strike partner Elkeson.

    Just two minutes later the Brazilian front man, who won the Asian Champions League last season with Guangzhou Evergrande, had the 33,000-strong crowd screaming for a penalty when he fell at the edge of Jeonbuk’s box.

    However Australian referee Benjamin Williams gave a free-kick outside the 18-meter area, which Elkeson blasted straight against the wall.

    In the 37th minute, Jeonbuk’s Brazilian forward Leonardo hit the post with a curling effort from outside the box.

    A whipping free-kick from Lu Wenjun almost put SIPG ahead but Jeonbuk goalkeeper Kwoun Sun-tae pushed the effort wide in the 54th minute.

    SIPG enjoyed a spell of heavy pressure towards the end as an unusually-animated Eriksson urged his charges on from the touchline.

    His exhortations almost paid off when Wu Lei went close with a backwards header from inside the box two minutes from time.

    “I think it was an acceptable outcome,” Eriksson told reporters after the match. “They had some chances, we had some chances, so it was even.

    “A clean sheet at home is very important. The tie is still open and there are still possibilities for us to reach the semifinal.”

    The second leg is on Sept. 13 in Jeonju, South Korea and Eriksson said Hulk should be back for it.

    “If everything goes as we plan, as the doctors plan, then Hulk will be ready for our next Chinese Super League game against Beijing,” said Eriksson.

    (SD-Agencies)