China beats Iran 3-1 in Olympic soccer qualifier

AFC - The Chinese Olympic side put their aspirations of qualifying for Athens 2004 back on track after scoring their first victory of the Asian Football Qualifiers 2004 with a determined 3-1 win against Iran.

With Korea Republic storming to the top of the group with three consecutive wins, a draw would not have suited either party, and China and Iran showed plenty of determination to go for all three points in an effort to edge closer to Kim Ho-kun's side.

As it transpired, the fervent search for victory led to both teams resorting to several rash tackles in a tempestuous opening to the match.

China striker Lu Feng was guilty of squandering two good scoring chances shortly after the kick-off, putting a header straight at the Iranian goalkeeper and lofting the ball over the bar less than a minute later.

While China had the early sight of the opposition goal, it was Iran that went ahead thanks to a lucky break eight minutes into the game.

A searching ball was sent into the China penalty area and although it was comfortably cleared, Moharram Nadvidkia's chase for the loose ball forced a Chinese player outside the area to inadvertantly send it back over goalkeeper An Qi's head and into the net.

China needed a change of luck and it arrived just three minutes later. Defender Du Wei had put a header against the crossbar but the Shanghai Shenhua star was deemed to have been fouled by an Iranian defender, as the referee pointed to the spot to the delight of the Chinese players.

China needed cool nerves under the circumstances and Dalian Shide defender Zhang Yaokun, slotted the ball coolly into the bottom right corner.

The pulsating affair looked like it was going to boil over on several occasions, as poor tackling across the pitch from both teams forced the official to stop play.

China's clear advantage in height did not seemingly deter Iran from opting to go the aerial route with Iran skipper Ali Alizadeh on two occasions during the opening period choosing to launch long throw-ins from the left flank, with An standing strong each time to nullify the danger.

The 1-1 scoreline at half-time would have pleased the Korean camp, and poor tackling continued to plague the game after the break with Sun Xiang's rash lunge at Kaebi showing China's desperation.

Central midfielders Hu Zhaojun and Xu Liang blossomed as the minutes ticked by, instilling steel in the middle of the park as they quashed the Iranian threats orchestrated by the Foolad duo Eman Mobali and Hossein Kaebi.

That strength contributed to China's progressive dominance in the game with Wang Sheng missing at the far post in the 52nd minute before the unmarked duo of Yan Song and Du both astonishingly missed a cross seven minutes later.

Iran lost their creative touch in the face of China's resolve, Mohammad Mayelikohan's team shooting from range on numerous occasions when a calculated move into the China penalty area would have suited them better.

Then with 20 minutes left on the clock, Yu Tao picked up a throw-in on the left flank, eluded a desperate Iranian lunge in the box and sent in a low cross for Gao Ming to fire home.

With Iran unable to find their usual rhythm, China went in search for more goals.

Du had been a tower of strength in defence all match long but tension filled the Wuhan Stadium terraces when he fell awkwardly in the 79th minute and had to briefly leave the field. However, he was to returned with devastating effect.

China won a corner at the other end while Du was receiving treatment, and fellow Shanghai star Sun Xiang withheld his delivery until his clubmate returned to the pitch. Sun then lofted the ball into a packed Iran penalty area and Du met the ball well only to see it bounce off the underside of the crossbar and back into play.

However, Sun sent the ball in a second time and this time, Du powered the ball into the net to round off an excellent personal performance.

China now have four points from three games, moving ahead of Iran into second place in Group A with three matches to play.