China soccer captain Zheng Zhi was elected Charlton Athletic's player of the month for March, gaining 94 percent of votes among 1,520 fans given his part in his team's two successive wins over Newcastle and Wigan last month. He was voted Man of the Match on both occasions.

On loan to relegation-threatened Charlton, Zheng Zhi has been nicknamed ZZ (as was Zinedine Zidane) and has restored long-lost hopes to Addicks fans that their team could stay up in the English Premier League.

Having played his part in the comeback at Vicarage Road, Zheng took the game to the Magpies during the 2-0 win over Newcastle United. In a pulsating second half, Zheng reacted on instinct to head home the rebound of Darren Bent's free-kick after it rattled the crossbar.?

He capped off a game with a jinking run in the box, only to be denied by Shay Given in the Magpies goal. As the clock ticked down, his energy made Nolberto Solano make a clumsy challenge and Jerome Thomas put away the spot-kick to secure the Charlton victory.?

After falling 2-1 to Everton, Charlton sit in 18th place with 32 points, two points behind Sheffield United in the drop zone. The two will face off this weekend in a do-or-die game for both teams.

(China Daily April 20, 2007)