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China beat S.Korea in East Asia women’s championship

Both China and South Korea now have one win and one defeat each, after the Chinese lost to Japan and the Koreans beat Taiwan in their first games.

After a scoreless first half, midfielder Pang Fengyue sent a cross into the area, where forward Ma nodded home to open the scoring in the 51^st minute.

In the 63^rd minute, skipper Bi Yan hit a right corner into the area, allowing defender Yuan to head the ball, which then changed course after touching a defender and went between the legs of hapless goalkeeper Kim Jung-Mi.

South Korea managed to pull one back thanks to forward Ji So-Yun’s direct free kick from just outside the penalty area in the 85^th minute, completing the scoring.

‘It was a good game,’ said China coach Shang Ruihua. ‘We lost to Japan in our opening game and that changed my players mentally. This win is very important, because some of my players were not in good condition.’

‘Overall, we had some ups and downs, but we started very well in the beginning and the goals were excellent. Hopefully, my team will improve further through this championship.’

The Chinese women, who were third in the previous championship in 2008, got off to a solid start with midfielder You Jia hitting the first shot on goal.

But South Korea soon got into their rhythm, with forward Ji So-Yun repeatedly threatening the Chinese goal mouth. Her shot in the 36^th minute was the best in the first half, but the ball hit the bar.

China also missed a goal when midfielder Yu Yuan’s shot was saved by the Korean goalkeeper before the break.

Korea coach Lee Sang-Yup admitted that the missed goal affected his players in the second half.

‘As a coach of the losing team, I have nothing to say. I’m not satisfied with today’s game, but we played better than in our first game,’ said Lee.

‘We had a shot that hit the bar. That affected my players in the second half mentally. If we had scored that goal, my players would have played much better,’ he added.