China made a superb team effort in their Asia Cup opener on Tuesday
to smash co-hosts Malaysia 5-1 in Kuala Lumpur. Han Peng and Wang
Dong each bagged two while Shao Jiayi made a solitary effort count
to take China to the top of Group C.
Despite an awful 1-4-3 record at previous cup openers, China
maintain their unbeaten streak against Malaysia who have not beaten
China in 12 internationals.
Chinese soon showed their superior skill with Wang Dong
unleashed the first shot of the game only to be denied by Malaysian
goalie Azizon Kadir only 2 minutes into the first half. Han Peng
then opened the dam for China with a header in the 15th minute
connecting with a sideline pass by Wang Dong.
China controlled the game, built up their attacks and struck
again in the 36th minute when Chinese captain and former Charlton
Athletic midfielder Zheng Zhi fed Shao Jiayi a perfect set-up into
an open goal.
The continuous attacks broke through Malaysia's defense again
after the break with Wang Dong and Han Peng both scoring within 4
minutes.
Mahayuddin Indra Putra saved the home team's honor by scoring
with a long-range shot on 72 minutes but Wang Dong put Malaysia to
the sword in injury time with a header making it 5-1.
China will next face tournament favorites Iran on July 15 while
Malaysia will try to regain its footing against Uzbekistan a day
earlier.
"China performed magic steps and today's match didn't belong to
us," said Mahayuddin Indra Putra.
"We controlled the ball and we controlled the game," said
China's head coach Zhu Guanghu, adding that "the final game of the
group stage will be the most important one."
Before the clash, event co-hosts Thailand tied Iraq 1-1, Vietnam
beat the United Arab Emirates 2-0 and Indonesia upset Bahrain
2-1.
(China.org.cn by Li Xiao July 11, 2007)
