China down DPR Korea 2-1 at AFC Asian Cup en.people.cn/n/2015/0119/c90779-8837618.html Midfielder Sun Ke scored twice to help China beat DPR Korea 2-1 and advance to the Knockout stage with a best-ever three stragight wins as Group B leaders at the AFC Asian Cup before tens of thousands of Chinese fans here on Sunday. China will challenge hosts Australia, runners-up of Group A, at the quarter-finals in Brisbane on Jan. 22. Sun Ke, who scored the crucial winner in Chinas 2-1 victory over Uzbekistan, continued his heroic performance tonight at the nearly fully packed Canberra Stadium where most of the spectators are supporters of China. Sun quickfired in less than one minute after kickoff with a nice outstep stab inside the penalty area after Korean defender Jang Song Hyok made an error in clearing Jiang Zhipengs long pass. Sun doubled the advantage for China on 42 minutes with a diving header at the far past following Jiang Zhipengs well-curved left wing cross. Its his third goal of the tournament and the 25-year-old attacker can compete for the golden boot prize of the tournament. Now Jordans Hamza Al Dardour leads the scoring table with his four goals in Jordans 5-1 crush over Palestine. If Sun could do more in their quarter-final clash with Australia, he may catch or surpass Al Dardours record. The Koreans pulled one back in the 57th minute. Midfielder Jong Il Gwan rounded Jiang Zhipeng after receiving Pak Kwang Ryongs left wing center at the far post and his low drive was wrongly cleared by the Chinese defenders on the goal line, the ball bounced back to the empty net after Zhang Linpeng slided it to hit striker Gao Lin. Jong could have levelled the score if his dipping header two minutes later following Ro Hak Sus cross went a little bit lower. And the lively attacker missed another at the beginning of the second half when his bullet shot was parried by a focused keeper Wang Dalei. China coach Alain Perrin brought on most of his major lineup for the game, although China have secured the top place after two victories over Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan, and the Frenchmans players controlled the first half with much more possession and threats. Left winger Yu Hais smart lobbing shot in a tight angle before the end of the break seemed to be goal-bound, but a Korean defender headed the ball out timely on the goal line. However, in the second half, DPR Korea rallied and lauched some fierce attacks to test their rivals defence, substitute forward So Hyon Uk nearly levelled in the 82nd minute with a powerful half-volley rattling the crossbar at the edge of the box. Sim Hyon Jin also missed a good opportunity two minutes later. So came close again in injury time with another header to be parried by Wang Dalei. The Koreans showed their courage and attacking ability, but the finishing was not accuate enough to change the result. The Koreans finally ranked the fourth at Group B after three consecutive defeats.
Posted on: Tue, 20 Jan 2015 00:39:00 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015