Former cellar-dwelling team Hangzhou Greentown FC (3-9-3, 12 points) pulled off a stunning 1-0 upset win over second-running squad Hebei China Fortune FC (9-3-3, 30 points) at the Yellow Dragon Sports Center on June 25, Saturday.

Local striker Tan Yang scored the winning goal of the contest for head coach Hong Myung-bo at the 26th minute off a pass from Brazilian forward Denilson Gabionetta, via Goal.

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Hangzhou Greentown had been at the bottom of the 16-team China first division table for a couple of weeks now after failing to find a single victory in their last 11 games, the longest winless streak so far this season, in the country's top flight football league.

They had been reeling with a three-game losing slide and have lost four of their last five before this game versus the Samba Kings, as per Soccerway.

With their one-point triumph coinciding with Shandong Luneng's 1-2 defeat to Chongqing Lifan in the same round, the Green Giants were able to overtake Taishan Dui by two points to climb up by a spot in the overall standings, although they are still in the bottom two relegation zone.

Meanwhile, newly-promoted side Hebei China Fortune, last season's China League One runners-up, had been on a six-game unbeaten run before this surprising loss to Hangzhou as they were neck-to-neck with current league leaders and defending champions Guangzhou Evergrande in the overall standings for several weeks now.

Manager Li Tie's boys remain at the second spot of the league table, but the gap between them and the Southern China Tigers widened to six points at the moment. Their lead over third-placed team Jiangsu Suning stayed at one point, though, after Jiangsu was beaten by Evergrande in their own round 15 matchup.

The Samba Kings are surprise contenders this term following their promotion from the League One. However, a lot of pundits projected their ascent to the standings because of the foreign reinforcements they gathered in the recent winter transfer window, headed by former Roma striker Gervinho and Paris Saint-Germain forward Ezequiel Lavezzi.

TagsChina Football, Chinese Super League, Chinese Super League news, Hangzhou Greentown FC, Hebei China Fortune FC