Sun fires China into quarters
North Korea out after loss to Saudi Arabia
MELBOURNE: Super-sub Sun Ke fired China into the Asian Cup quarter-finals yesterday as North Korea crashed out and Jordan fumed over a botched dope test that left a player ill.
Sun’s superb solo effort after 68 minutes, moments after coming on, gave China a pulsating 2-1 victory over Uzbekistan and sent them into the knockout stages for the first time since 2004.
But there was bitter disappointment for North Korea, who scored their first Asian Cup goal for 23 years but still lost 4-1 to Saudi Arabia and were eliminated.
China coach Alain Perrin promised to celebrate in style.
“I’m going back to the hotel and I will open maybe two bottles of good champagne,” Perrin said. “After the first match [a 1-0 win over Saudi Arabia] we had just a small celebration within the coaching group. This time I think I will ask my players to join us.”
Man of the match Wu Xi revealed that the celebrations had already started, with team personnel dancing on the dressing room tables after the match and diving into the ice baths.
It was a red letter day for the Chinese, runners-up in 1984 and again as hosts in 2004 but still chasing a first Asian Cup title.
China did it the hard way, going behind to Odil Ahmedov’s deflected shot after 22 minutes.
They dragged themselves back into the match, however, Wu equalising with a sharp finish 10 minutes into the second half before Sun’s cracker triggered wild celebrations on the Chinese bench.
Uzbekistan must now beat Saudi Arabia in their final group game if they want to progress to the final eight.
“We were better in the first half but in the second after we conceded the first goal China became so strong and they changed the game,” Uzbekistan coach Mirdjalal Kasimov said. “All my players did their best and they played well, but China was better after their first goal.”
The Saudis breathed new life into their campaign after being upset 1-0 by the Chinese.
North Korea took an early lead when Japan-based midfielder Ryang Yong-Gi slammed in the rebound after Pak KwangRyong’s fierce drive had been parried by goalkeeper Waleed Abdullah.
But Naif Hazazi equalised with a clinical finish against the run of play eight minutes before the interval. The Saudi forward’s joy was unbridled, having fluffed a penalty against China at the weekend.
Mohammed Al Sahlawi poked the Gulf side in front seven minutes after the break, before profiting from some horror defending to roll in a third as North Korea began to unravel.
Nawaf Alabid added a fourth and Saudi Arabia, who won the last of their three Asian Cup titles in 1996, face 2011 semifinalists Uzbekistan for the right to join China in the knockout stages on Sunday.
“I knew North Korea would be dangerous and they gave us trouble,” he said. “But I was confident we would wear them down. We had to take some risks. Sometimes you have to assume risks to win.”
Pyongyang frequently lavishes cars and apartments on athletes who bring glory to the state, but the North Korean players at least had the consolation of being cheered to the rafters by a crowd of 12,000 in Melbourne for their plucky display.
“We began well but we conceded a soft second goal and that caused us a lot of mental stress,” Jo said. “After that we just lost concentration.”