South Korea defeated China 2-0 in Changsha, capital city of
central China's Hunan Province, on Saturday as they chalked up the
fifth consecutive win in an Olympic soccer Asian Zone Group A fifth
round qualifier game to qualify for the Athens Olympic Games.
Striker Cho Jae-Jin who scored the sole goal in their first
encounter with China on March 3 in Seoul, found the net again in
the 45th minute when he latched onto a swerving pass from
midfielder Kim Dong-Jin and headed the ball past the helpless An
Qi, China's goalkeeper.
With only a bit more than one minute into the second half, South
Korea made it 2-0 as Kim scored on a volley inside the box.
Substitute Choi Tak-U nearly enlarged South Korea's lead in the
86th minute when he saw his shot flew past An Qi and hit the
bar.
With this win, South Korea built an unassailable lead with 15
points from five wins. They are followed by Iran with nine points
in the group. On May 12, these two teams will play their last group
qualifier in Seoul while China will go to Kuala Lumpur to meet
Malaysia.
South Korea head coach Kim Ho-Kon singled out midfielder Park
Ji-Sung, who plays with PSV Eindhoven of the Netherlands, for
praise. "He plays an irreplaceable role in my team. He dominated
the midfield and set the pace of my team in the game. His
contribution is noticeable," said Kim.
He said too much pressure led to China's debacle. "China played
before home fans this time and they were too earnest to win. They
were under too much pressure, and this undoubtedly affected their
performance," he added.
China, who have already been ousted of the contention for a
berth in the Olympics, rarely looked dangerous with their
disjointed and erroneous play. Their first attempt on goal came in
the 36th minute when midfielder Yu Tao's long shot was fended out
by South Korea's goalkeeper Kim Young-Kwang.
Chinese head coach Shen Xiangfu was satisfied with his players'
performance but was apparently sad over the result. "My players
tried their best. But they are not as skillful as the South
Koreans, and their abilities to read and control the game leave
much to be desired. As the head coach I should also try to improve
myself in the future," he said.
(Xinhua News Agency May 2, 2004)