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Sorry - this page has been removed. Penalty save helps China shock Saudi Arabia at Asian Cup
(4 months later)
This could be because it launched early, our rights have expired, there was a legal issue, or for another reason. China saved a second half penalty then scored a fortuitous goal that took a wicked deflection off a defender to upset Saudi Arabia 1-0 at the Asian Cup.
Two days into the tournament, everything had gone according to plan, but China tore up the script at Lang Park by producing the first real upset of the event.
For further information, please contact: Midfielder Yu Hai got the only goal of the match when he banged his free-kick into the back of the net 10 minutes from the end, but only after a stroke of luck.
His left-footed shot from 30 yards out clipped the back of one of the Saudi defenders and deviated away from the helpless Saudi goalkeeper Waleed Abdullah.
The Chinese surprisingly dominated the first half but almost fell behind in the second term when the Saudis were awarded a penalty after striker Naif Hazazi was hacked down by Ren Hang as he was bearing down on goal.
But Hazazi made a hash of his spot kick, lamely booting it straight into the legs of the Chinese goalkeeper Wang Dalei, who was mobbed by his team-mates after making the save.
Although Saturday’s match was the first of the tournament for both teams, the result could prove decisive to both team’s chances of progressing after Uzbekistan, the Group B favourites, earlier beat North Korea 1-0 in Sydney.
The Saudis, one of Asian football’s traditional giants, went into the match as heavy favourites but failed to impose themselves against a Chinese team that was lucky to make for the 16-country tournament, advancing only as the best third-places team in the qualifying groups.
Despite having won the Asian Cup three times, the Saudis have struggled in recent years, losing all three of their group matches at the 2011 tournament and slipping to 102nd in the world rankings, six places below China.
The Chinese, chasing a first Asian Cup title, succeeded in prising open the Saudi defence several times and delivered some quality crosses, though few resulted in clear-cut scoring chances.
The best opportunity to break the deadlock fell to Chinese midfielder Wu Xi three minutes before the interval when he found himself in space near the box but he shot wide.
With neither side able to seize control, frustrations began to boil over and Iranian referee Alireza Faghani reached to his pocket five times to issue yellow cards, three against the Saudis and two against China.
Earlier, South Korea kicked off their bid for a first Asian Cup title in 55 years with a 1-0 win over Oman in their Group A opener, but the victory came at a cost with injuries to key players.
Cho Young-cheol scored his first goal for his country in first half stoppage time as Ki Seung-yeung began his reign as skipper with a win, but full-back Kim Chang-soo limped off in the first half and attacker Lee Chung-yong in the second to mar the victory.
Oman came close to snatching a point in second half stoppage time but goalkeeper Kim Jin-hyeon brilliantly turned Imad Al-Hosni’s close range header from a corner on to the bar as South Korea survived.
The Koreans went second in the table and will next play on Tuesday at the same venue against Kuwait, who were humbled 4-1 by hosts Australia in the tournament opener in Melbourne on Friday.
The Koreans were heavily tipped to advance and their lively German-based duo of Son Heung-min and Koo Ja-cheol proved too troubling for the West Asians, who only ever had ambitions of a point from the tough opening task.
They looked liked escaping to halftime with their defensive line in tact but a late step up in intensity at the end of the opening 45 minutes led to Cho breaking the deadlock
Koo had a hand in the first goal, firing a low drive that Al-Habsi could only parry back in front of his goal, with Qatar-based Cho sliding in to put the rebound into the net in the 46 minute.
Koo’s directness was in contrast to many of his team mates in the first period, who seemed more interested in retaining possession than troubling Oman.
Midfielder Koo, top scorer in the tournament four years ago, should have added a second just before the hour mark but he could only direct a header straight at the goalkeeper after a lengthy Korean passing move.
A hefty challenge by Ahmed Saleem Al Mukhaini in the 69th minute then robbed South Korea of one of their key playmakers, with Lee Chung-yong limping off eight minutes later to follow Kim Chang-soo to the treatment room. The fullback departing in the 18th minute.
Korea’s failure to add a second to make the game safe buoyed Oman, who pushed forward for an unlikely draw as the game closed out, with Raeed Ibrahim Saleh providing some dangerous crosses from the left.
The wingback fired a low shot just wide as the game ticked into stoppage time with substitute Al-Hosni being denied with his header from the resulting corner.
Uzbekistan opened their campaign with a 1-0 victory over North Korea but needed a last second save from their goalkeeper to take all three points after spurning a series of chances at Stadium Australia.
Failure to beat North Korea - the lowest ranked team in the tournament - would have been a big blow to Uzbekistan’s chances of progressing from the tightly contested Group B, which also includes China and Saudi Arabia.
The only goal of the game came just after the hour mark when Igor Sergeev headed in a cross from his captain Server Djeparov, capping a much-improved second half performance from the Central Asian team, who were semi-finalists in Qatar four years ago.
Sergeev came close to scoring his second goal of the game 15 minutes before full time, but his effort from Sardor Rashidov’s cross went over the bar.
Sanjar Tursunov too should have got himself on the score sheet, but, with the goal at his mercy, he fired the ball side-footed straight at the North Korean keeper from 10 metres out.
Twice Asian player of the year Djeparov was at the heart of much of Uzbekistan’s best play but the Central Asian team were wasteful in front of goal.
The wastefulness almost cost them when North Korea nearly snatched a draw through a header from Pak Kwang Ryong which was saved by Uzbekistan keeper Ignatiy Nesterov in the last few seconds of the match.
Goal-scoring opportunities were at a premium in the first half, mostly because Uzbekistan were unable to make the most of their dominance of possession, often choosing to shoot from long range.
The best opportunity before halftime came inside the first 15 minutes but Timur Kapadze’s header hit the post, having taken a deflection off a North Korea player.