China's chance of qualifying for the 2004 Olympics was seriously
dented when its eleven were held to a 1-1 tie by Malaysia in the
Asian zone Group A Olympic soccer qualifier at Wuhan Sports Center
Saturday night.?
?
China came out strong in the first half as midfielder Xu Liang
scored the opener with a header in the 20th minute from a corner
kick off Sun Xiang.
In a rainy and cold night, the hosts squandered at least three
golden opportunities before the Malaysians celebrated their
equaliser through captain Akmal Rizal Rakhli in the 85th minute in
a clean and perfect counter-attack.
"I am satisfied with the result," said Malaysia's head coach
Allan Harris, "I think China played a very good first half, and our
guys also played a very good game, especially in the second half
and I am satisfied with their performance."
"They perhaps overlooked us a little bit," said Harris. "Before
the match some people even expected China would beat us by 5-0 or
6-0."
The hosts were supposed to double the lead 22 minutes after the
half break when forward Cao Ming's drive hit the post and rebounded
to a Malaysian defender.
In the first half, forward Yan Song failed to convert an
excellent cross from midfielder Yu Tao and five minutes later
forward Cao Ming's header was saved by Malaysian goalkeeper Mohamad
Mustafa.
In the last minutes, the Malaysians survived a string of bombs
from the hosts to hold on for the 1-1 tie.
China is now locked at one point apiece with Malaysia at the
bottom of Group A, while South Korea leads the group on six points,
with the group winner only qualifying for the Olympic Games.
"I have broken the trust placed in me, dashed the hopes of the
fans across China," said Chinese head coach Shen Xiangfu.? "It
was especially regrettable as many of those fans had braved the
rain to show us the support."
"I can only offer a sincere apology.
"As for the result, we are in a very difficult position. Our
aspirations are looking bleak but that is life. We must fight on
and go through the difficulties," added Shen.?
China will play Iran next Saturday.
(Xinhua News Agency March 21, 2004)