| China fight back to hold Korea 3-3
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September 5th, 2007
South Korea 3 China 3
Asian Games champions South Korea threw away a 3-1 lead to allow China to stage a comeback and draw 3-3 in a crucial Pool B encounter here on Wednesday. At the break, both the teams were locked at 1-1. Korea then scored twice in the 52nd and 53rd minute before China cut the scores to 2-3 in the 59th minute. China then won a penalty corner in the last seconds before the hooter went. Since the rules stipulate that the penalty corner be taken, China scored and equalized at 3-3.
Both the teams are now on seven points each. Korea now has a goal average of plus 25 while China is on plus 18. On Thursday, the last day of the Pool B matches, China take on Sri Lanka while South Korea plays Bangladesh.
China opened the scoring in the 11th minute when Meng Lizhi scored with a field attempt.
Korea equalized in the 21st minute when Oh Dae Keun trapped a cross in the circle to shoot past the Chinese goalkeeper. Korea then took the lead in the 52nd minute when Jang Jong Hyun converted a penalty corner. A minute later, in the 53rd minute, Kang Seong Jung gave Korea a 3-1 lead with an opportunistic strike in the circle.
Just when it seemed Korea would comfortably hold onto their 3-1 lead, China cut the scores to 2-3 when Li Wei scored from a field attempt.
With five minutes remaining in the match, it started raining and China with five seconds to go for the hooter was awarded a penalty corner. In driving rain, with water forming small puddles inside the striking circle, China couldn’t trap cleanly but managed to give it to Luo Fang whose uppish strike beat the Korean goalkeeper.
Chinese coach Kim Sang Ryul was happy with the way China fought back. “We were down by two goals and my team never gave up.”
Score Sheet:
Meng Lizhi (11th, FG) 1-0
Oh Dae Keun (21st, FG) 1-1
Jang Jong Hyun (52nd, PC) 2-1
Kang Seong Jung (53rd, FG) 3-1
Li Wei (59th, FG) 2-3
Luo Fang Ming (70th, PC) 3-3
| Schedule |
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Final Standings :
1. India
2. S Korea
3. Malaysia
4. Japan
5. China
6. Pakistan
7. Bangladesh
8. Hong Kong
9. Sri Lanka
10. Singapore
11. Thailand
Sunday's Matches  |
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| TEAM A | TEAM B | Playoff | TIME | RESULT | |||
| S Lanka | SPore | 9/10 | 08:00 | 6-0 | |||
| Ban | HKG | 7/8 | 07:00 | 3-1 | |||
| China | Pak | 5/6 | 09:30 | 3-2 | |||
| Malaysia | Japan | 3/4 | 16:00 | 5-3 | |||
| India | S Korea | 1/2 | 18:30 | 7-2 | |||
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Saturday's Matches |
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| TEAM A | v | TEAM B | TIME | RESULT | |||
| Singapore | v | Thailand | 08:00 | 4-0 | |||
| Pak | v | Ban | 07:00 | 10-0 | |||
| China | v | HongKong | 09:30 | 6-1 | |||
| S Korea | v | Malaysia | 17:00 | 2-1 | |||
| India | v | Japan | 19:30 | 4-1 | |||
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SCORE TABLE |
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| POOL A | |||||||
| TEAM | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | PTS |
| Malaysia SF | 4 | 3 | 1 | 26 | 4 | 10 | |
| Japan SF | 4 | 3 | 1 | 18 | 4 | 9 | |
| Pakistan | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 18 | 7 | 7 |
| Hong Kong | 4 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 28 | 3 | |
| Singapore | 4 | 4 | 2 | 27 | 0 | ||
| POOL B | |||||||
| TEAM | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | PTS |
| India SF | 5 | 5 | 46 | 2 | 15 | ||
| S Korea SF | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 41 | 8 | 10 |
| China | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 32 | 6 | 10 |
| Bangladesh | 5 | 2 | 3 | 16 | 22 | 6 | |
| Sri Lanka | 5 | 1 | 4 | 15 | 46 | 3 | |
| Thailand | 5 | 5 | 1 | 67 | 0 | ||
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 A team should be ready to play anyone. Of course, more |
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