China tie S Korea, Australia lead Group

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-05-20 09:54

CHENGDU, Sichuan Province - Hosts China suffered a goalless tie with South Korea in their Group B match at the AFC (Asian Football Confederation) Women's Asian Cup, while Australia showed their strength by easily beating Vietnam 2-0 to lead the group here on Wednesday.

The AFC women's Asian Cup is being held in the soccer-mad city of Chengdu from May 19-30. The top three finishers will qualify for next year's World Cup in Germany.

Although China have reached the final of the Asian Cup in 10 of the last 11 editions, it seems to be not easy for them to make the semifinal this time.

China stands 12th ahead of South Korea (21) in the latest FIFA women's rankings, and had 20 victories in their previous 23 meetings, but the hosts had no advantage in Wednesday's match. South Korea could have taken the victory if they had some luck as their shots hit the bar four times.

"I think we are lucky," said Shang Ruihua, coach of the Chinese team. "I think we gave our opponent too many chances as they hit the bar four times."

"The result is acceptable. We made some mistakes in the first 10 minutes, but after that we performed quite well," he added.

The hosts lost their best chance in the first half when captain Bi Yan's powerful free kick from 30 meters wide hit the far post in the 22nd minute.

China again missed the scoring in the extra time of the first half when forward Ma Jun's superb volley went narrowly higher.

Compared with the hosts, South Korea were far unluckier as they hit the bar four times.

"It's a very interesting game," said Lee Sang Yup, coach of the South Korean team. "What we need was some luck."

South Korea's midfielder Li Jiang Mi's header kissed the bar in the ninth minute after receiving a nice pass from Cho So Hyun from the left wing, and her short-range shot hit the bar again in the 70th minute.

Three minutes later, midfielder Cho So Hyun's powerful shot from the penalty box still could not change South Koreans' fate, and their last attempt in the injury time also hit the bar.

Australia proved they were too strong for Vietnam as they claimed a 2-0 victory to lead the Group B.

"It's a tough match. I'm satisfied with the result, but I'm not satisfied with the performance of some players," said Tom Sermanni, coach of the Australian team. "We could play better."

Australia suffered a sluggish start as they wasted several good chances. The first goal came in the 28th minute as forward Leena Khamis made a sharp-angle shot which went into the left bottom of the net.

Vietnam's misery was compounded in the second half when their defender tackled down Australia's forward Tameka Butt in the penalty zone in the 51st minute, which gifted Australia a penalty.

Midfielder Kylie Ledbrook killed off Vietnam's lingering hope of a comeback by scoring a tight-angle penalty in the 52rd minute.

Vietnam was pressed into their own half in most of the time. Their best opportunity before the break came in the 10th minute when midfielder Doan Thi Kim Chi's free kick went just narrowly higher.

Vietnam also wasted a good chance in the 62nd minute when midfielder Nguyen Thi Muon's superb shot from the right corner of the penalty box was narrowly higher too.

Australia will clash with South Korea in the second round of Group B matches on May 21, while Vietnam will meet hosts China later the day.

China last won the Asian Cup in Adelaide in 2006 after a record seven successive titles from 1983 to 1999. They were defeated by DPR Korea 2-1 in the final in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam in 2008.