Chinese fans and media greeted the national team’s thumping 6-1 win over Vietnam on Wednesday with a mixture of joy and relief yesterday, as embattled caretaker coach Yin Tiesheng quit after a rocky six weeks in charge.
The commanding home win in Hangzhou put China at the top of their qualifying group for the 2011 Asian Cup finals, and gave local fans some much-needed cheer ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday next week.
“China sends new year wishes early,” the headline in the Beijing News said.
PHOTO: AFP
“Grateful to the national soccer team ... for not spoiling the party for fans about to celebrate the New Year,” a report posted on web portal Netease said.
Chinese soccer fans endured a miserable year last year, with the Olympic side knocked out of the group stages of the Beijing Games in August and the national side bundled out of the preliminaries for the 2010 World Cup finals.
The start of this year had also brought little cheer, with China slumping to defeats in a friendly with Iran and their 3-2 away loss in their opening Asian Cup qualifier against Syria last week.
The rare taste of victory on Wednesday saw Chinese fans surround the team bus after the match, to throw garlands rather than the usual missiles, one local newspaper reported.
Chinese striker Gao Lin put the hosts ahead two minutes into the game, but Vietnam levelled 10 minutes later with Nguyen Vu Phong’s low drive from inside the penalty area.
China took the lead again on 21 minutes when Gao burst through two defenders before sidefooting home a low drive. Du Wei and Jiang Ning added two more before the break.
Midfielder Hao Junmin contributed the fifth soon after the restart following fine work from Qu Bo, before Gao rounded off the night with his third, firing a fierce shot inside the area.
Also on Wednesday the United Arab Emirates got their Asian Cup qualifying campaign off to a flying start in Kuala Lumpur as they outclassed Malaysia 5-0.
Doubles from Mohamed Omar and Ismael Matar plus one from substitute Ahmad Khalil, seconds after he had come on, rounded off a memorable night for the Emirates and a thoroughly miserable one for their hosts.
Malaysia’s cause had not been helped by their inspirational captain Shukon Adan missing out through a knee injury but even he would have been hard pressed to hold back the rampaging Emirates team.
Omar grabbed his brace in the first-half, giving the UAE the lead in the 29th minute following good work by Abdul Salam Al Junaibi — who had hit the bar earlier in the half — as he slotted the ball past Syamsuri Mustafa.
Omar then doubled their advantage with a penalty one minute into stoppage time of the first-half.
Matar ensured that there was no way back for Malaysia as his superb volley made it 3-0 in the 62nd minute which led to the unfortunate Syamsuri being replaced rounding off a desperate return to the international fold for him after almost a two year absence.
The introduction of substitute ‘keeper Syed Adney Syed made little difference as Matar scored his second after a wonderful solo effort as he beat two defenders and slid the ball home.
Khalil was then on hand to make it 5-0, benefiting from another defensive error.
In Wednesday’s other Asian Cup clash hosts Hong Kong lost 3-1 to Bahrain.
SIBLING RIVALRY: Marc Marquez was locked in a duel with his little brother, falling behind at one point before recovering for his first season-opening victory since 2014 Six-time world champion Marc Marquez yesterday won the MotoGP season-opening Thailand Grand Prix to complete a dominant debut weekend at his new Ducati Lenovo Team, having also romped to Saturday’s sprint. The Spanish great took the 26-lap grand prix by 1.732 seconds for his 63rd MotoGP victory from younger brother Alex Marquez, who is still seeking a first checkered flag, with Francesco Bagnaia third to complete an all-Ducati podium. It completed a perfect weekend for Marc Marquez, who took pole position, the sprint victory and the grand prix win for a maximum 37 points to open the 22-leg 2025 campaign. He led from
AC Milan’s slender hopes of reaching next season’s UEFA Champions League took another hit on Thursday with a 2-1 defeat at Bologna which left them eight points from Serie A’s top four. Sergio Conceicao’s team sit eighth, some way behind fourth-placed Juventus after losing an entertaining contest at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara, a match which was rescheduled from October last year due to torrential rain and flooding. Swathes of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy, much of which is fertile agricultural land, had been left under water following a massive autumn downpour. Dan Ndoye prodded home the decisive goal in the 82nd minute
Former Australian motorcycle gang member-turned-golfer Ryan Peake, who served a lengthy jail term for assault, yesterday produced a “life-changing” maiden win to qualify for The Open Championship. Peake held his nerve for a one-stroke victory at the New Zealand Open, earning him a berth at the major in Portrush, Northern Ireland, in July, pending clearance to travel as a convicted criminal. The 31-year-old from Perth celebrated animatedly and was showered with champagne by friends on the 18th green of the Millbrook Resort course near Queenstown after a redemption story rarely seen in the refined sport of golf. Peake held back tears as he
MILWAUKEE PREVAIL: Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 28 points as the Bucks withstood Nikola Jokic’s 27th triple-double of the season to beat the Nuggets Golden State star Stephen Curry on Thursday drilled 12 three-pointers in a scintillating 56-point display that carried the Warriors to a 121-115 victory over the Orlando Magic. Curry’s explosive performance helped the Warriors dig themselves out of a 17-point hole, with the point guard signaling the start of the fightback with a three-pointer from beyond the half-court line to end the first half that pulled the Warriors within 66-52 at the break. In the third quarter, he single-handedly outscored the Magic with 22 points to Orlando’s 21. The four-time NBA champion finished two three-pointers shy of former teammate Klay Thompson’s record for most
RSS