South Korea extended its 30-year no-defeat streak against China
as it beat the host 3-2 at the opening match of the third East
Asian Football Championship (EAFC) in Chongqing, Southwest China on
Sunday.
Since the 1-0 loss to S. Korea at the Bangkok Asian Games in
1978, the Chinese men footballers of both national and Olympic
teams have never tasted the winning joy against the "Tiger of Asia"
in a series of international events up to now.
S. Korea has achieved a proud record of 15 wins and 11 draws in
their last 26 clashes, winning a widespread nickname "the symptom
of dreading S.Korea" among the Chinese broken-hearted soccer
fans.
This time, as EAFC defending champion, China is in preparation
for the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. In early February, it
managed to snatch one crucial point from Asian champion Iraq in the
first qualifier. However, Chinese play-maker and captain Zheng Zhi
didn't return from Charlton of England for this tournament.
Though with the absence of many overseas experienced players,
South Korea is aiming to take back its leading position in East
Asia by winning the third EAFC title with coach Huh Jung Mao, who
took the job after Dutch Pim Verbeek's resignation last year.
As the first EAFC winner, South Korea failed to be crowned for
the second time in a row at home in 2005 with disappointing results
of two draws and one loss.
In today's match, South Korea opened the scoring in the 43rd
minute when 23-year-old forward Park Chu Young gave the lead for
the visitors with a looping header inside the far post from a curve
well-placed side cross.
After strategic adjustment under chief coach Ratomir Dujkovic
and head coach Vladimir Petrovic, the Chinese players seemed to
find the rhyme of match and fight back to gain the momentum of the
early second half.
Chinese leading midfielder Zhou Haibing equalized for the home
side with a superb long shot after the Korean defenders failed to
clear the corner far away in the 47th.
Thirteen minutes later, China's right midfielder Wang Dong's
free kick set up Liu Jian to overtake the lead with a powerful
header.
However, the joy of the fanatic 30,000 home spectators only
lasted for five minutes as the visitors showed their stamina and
fighting spirit to equalize the score with a direct free kick by
Park Chu young. In the injury time, the Korean made the last hit
with a curve shot in the far corner and held the 3-2 score to the
whistle.
"We performed much better in the second half today, however the
result is depressing. But the football is always like this. I've
played in the national team for 10 years and I never gave up. The
most important thing is that we should learn experience for the
second World Cup qualifier against Australia on March 26," said
Chinese captain and center back Li Weifeng after the match.
China's head coach Petrovic thought the 30-year-no-win jinx gave
his players too much pressure. "It's a pity that we lost the third
goal due to our defender's problem. I think the pressure affects
players' performance a lot. However, we have achieved the goal of
gaining experience as we played very well in the second half."
"It's S. Korea's victory of 27th match against China today. I
felt satisfied with our young players' performance as they showed
their confidence when they were one goal behind," Huh Jung Mao said
at the press conference after the match.
The third East Asian Football Championship opened officially at
the Olympic Center Sunday afternoon, wherein top four teams of the
region: host China, DPR Korea, Japan and South Korea are competing
for the title in a round-robin format.
(Xinhua News Agency February 18, 2008)
