China made a nice comeback through two sharp headers to beat
Kazakhstan 2-1 at an international soccer friendly on
Wednesday.
"China started very aggressive in the first ten minutes. But
after that we were 50-50. In the second half, several players of
the team were really tired and it was hard to make something,"
commented Kazakhstan coach Pijpers Arno.
Chinese coach Zhu Guanghu responded, saying "we made several
tactical changes and played better in the second half. But the bad
pitch condition affected both teams. It's difficult to make short
pass," said.
China lost center back Xu Yunlong minutes before kickoff to a
sudden injury in the warm-up training and brought on Du Wei to fill
in the gap.
Kazakhstan took the lead on 16 minutes when Kamelov Dias whipped
a corner to the near post where striker Suyumagambetov Murat poked
the ball into the empty net comfortably.
The hosts leveled 15 minutes later when burly forward Han Peng
headed home an accurate cross from midfielder Du Zhenyu on the left
flank.
Kazakhstan took the upper hand in the first half through
well-organized attacks thanks to playmaker Baltiev Ruslan's
constant threatening passes.
However, opportunist Li Jinyu sealed victory for China at the
start of the second half, jumping high at the far post to fire a
well-curved ball from Du Zhenyu into the net.
The national team is in full swing ahead for the upcoming AFC
Asian Cup in July as it aims to reach the final. They were
runners-up after losing 3-1 to Japan during the last Asian Cup on
home soil.
In England, a bloody fight overshadowed between the Chinese
Olympic football team and England Championship side Queens Park
Rangers.
The violence forced the referee to call off the game, with the
Chinese lagging 2-1. The game was the second in China's warm-up
series in England.
Queens Park Rangers took an easy lead in the first half after
the Chinese keeper failed to read a long pass, gifting the Rangers
with a drive into the open net.
China rallied to level the score in the second half thanks to a
long-range effort shot from Gao Lin, but conceded a second goal to
the Queens Park Rangers just minutes later.
A fierce quarrel then broke out between Gao Lin and one of his
opponents after colliding with each other in the 75th minute,
transforming the field into a boxing ring.
At first the Chinese players tried to rescue Gao Lin, who was
surrounded by angry Queens Park Rangers, but the conflict
escalated, with even the substitutes running in to join the
fray.
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A number of Chinese players were injured in the fight, including
Chen Tao and goalie Wang Dalei. Zheng Tao was later taken to a
local hospital with a jaw injury.
Head coach Ratomir Dujkovic expressed his ire, saying the team
is responsible for safe-guarding China's reputation abroad. He
slammed his players, saying they need to keep their cool whenever
unexpected incidents occur on the pitch.
The Chinese team started touring Europe last month as they train
to gain a top four finish at the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008.
However, all their games in England have been tainted by
violence. A similar scene occurred when they lost 1-0 to
Premiership powerhouse Chelsea on Monday.
China has stepped up its preparation for the Olympics under the
helm of Serbian coach Dujkovic, who has announced he wants his team
to take a medal at the Beijing Olympics. Dujkovic unexpectedly led
African side Ghana to the World Cup in Germany in 2006.?
The U-23 team's final friendly will pit them against English
Championship side Brentford on Tuesday.
(Xinhua News Agency and CRI February 8, 2007)
