World NewsChina Squeeze Past Lebanon Towards Asian Cup |
China edged closer to the 2011 Asian Cup finals with a 1-0 win over Lebanon at Hangzhou Yellow Dragon Stadium.
Captain Du Wei headed home after 18 minutes to settle the Group D contest as second-placed China moved five points clear of Vietnam with just two games remaining and on course to joining Syria in qualifying for the finals in Qatar.Lebanon had goalkeeper Lary Mehanna to thank for the scoreline, but after suffering a fourth defeat in as many games, saw their slim hopes of advancing ended.
After beating Lebanon 2-0 in Beirut last weekend and with coach Gao Hongbo promising a creative attacking display, China dominated the contest from the first whistle.
Hao Junmin was denied by Mehanna after 17 minutes, but just a minute later defender Du met Deng Zhuoxiang's inviting cross to open the scoring.
Lebanon lacked creativity in attack without midfielder Roda Antar and China came close to a second seven minutes before the break as Mehanna made another spectacular save to turn away Zhao Xuri's speculative effort.
China continued to dominate in the second half but Hassan Maatouk created the first real threat for Lebanon eight minutes into the second half but fired wide.
Mehanna denied the lively Deng four minutes later before Yang Zhi preserved China's slender lead as the goalkeeper charged from his goal to deny Akram Moghrabi.
China substitute Han Peng shot wide with five minutes remaining before China survived a late spell to claim a third win of the campaign.
Copyright (c) 2009 Press Association
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