South Korea defeated China 2-0 in Changsha, capital city of central China's Hunan Province, on Saturday as they chalked up the fifth consecutive win in an Olympic soccer Asian Zone Group A fifth round qualifier game to qualify for the Athens Olympic Games.
Striker Cho Jae-Jin who scored the sole goal in their first encounter with China on March 3 in Seoul, found the net again in the 45th minute when he latched onto a swerving pass from midfielder Kim Dong-Jin and headed the ball past the helpless An Qi, China's goalkeeper.
With only a bit more than one minute into the second half, South Korea made it 2-0 as Kim scored on a volley inside the box. Substitute Choi Tak-U nearly enlarged South Korea's lead in the 86th minute when he saw his shot flew past An Qi and hit the bar.
With this win, South Korea built an unassailable lead with 15 points from five wins. They are followed by Iran with nine points in the group. On May 12, these two teams will play their last group qualifier in Seoul while China will go to Kuala Lumpur to meet Malaysia.
South Korea head coach Kim Ho-Kon singled out midfielder Park Ji-Sung, who plays with PSV Eindhoven of the Netherlands, for praise. "He plays an irreplaceable role in my team. He dominated the midfield and set the pace of my team in the game. His contribution is noticeable," said Kim.
He said too much pressure led to China's debacle. "China played before home fans this time and they were too earnest to win. They were under too much pressure, and this undoubtedly affected their performance," he added.
China, who have already been ousted of the contention for a berth in the Olympics, rarely looked dangerous with their disjointed and erroneous play. Their first attempt on goal came in the 36th minute when midfielder Yu Tao's long shot was fended out by South Korea's goalkeeper Kim Young-Kwang.
Chinese head coach Shen Xiangfu was satisfied with his players' performance but was apparently sad over the result. "My players tried their best. But they are not as skillful as the South Koreans, and their abilities to read and control the game leave much to be desired. As the head coach I should also try to improve myself in the future," he said.
(Xinhua News Agency May 2, 2004)
