Australia coach Santrac hails draw with China

Home>>Sports

Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, September 27, 2003

Australia coach Santrac hails draw with China

Australia head coach Adrian Santrac was full of praise for his players after they held China to a 1-1 draw in a women's World Cup Group D game at the Home Depot Center in Carson on Thursday.

DISCUSSION

CHINESE

SEND TO FRIEND

Australia head coach Adrian Santrac was full of praise for his players after they held China to a 1-1 draw in a women's World Cup Group D game at the Home Depot Center in Carson on Thursday.

Australia, who lost both friendlies to China in August, led the Chinese 1-0 in the first half and won a precious point on their water-tight defense, their first draw with one of the top four teams in the world.

"I feel that the Australia 'Never Say Die Attitude' was very apparent in our play tonight and we gave it all we could," Santrac told reporters after the match.

"We definitely have some bumps and bruises and China is one of the best teams in the world and you have to expect a very physical game from them, but I am very proud of the way we played tonight.

The Australians almost gave up their attacks after the restart and rarely crossed the half line.

"The middle of our defense did an outstanding job for us. The goal straight at the start of the second swung the momentum into China's favor and it is very tough to swing momentum from any team. It takes a very experienced team to do that and that is why we were put on our heels for most of the second half.

Santrac said that China's problem is that they need to find a solution to break down their defense.

"They just couldn't find the right answers to break down our defense and put one in the net," he said.

The coach added that his team have mixed feelings because Australia could have won.

"Our team played great and I am very proud of them," he said.

Australia, who were beaten 2-1 in their first group match, need to snatch a win in their last game against Ghana in Portland on Sunday while China can progress from the Group with one point.

"Sunday is a must win situation, and I don't think it will be hard because we are a naturally attacking team. We feel that Russia does not want to play Germany so they will do everything they can to ensure a win versus China, but Ghana is a game that we feel we can win and that we must win," he said.

Questions?Comments? Click here

China held 1-1 by Austrilia in women's soccer World Cup

>> Full Coverage

Revaluation of Japanese Yen, a historical lesson to draw: analysis ( 6 Messages)

Russia will honor pipeline deal with China: Russian PM ( 2 Messages)

China to build world's largest campus computer grid ( 3 Messages)

Taiwan authorities condemned for tampering with history ( 3 Messages)

China in dire need of its own brands: news analysis ( 2 Messages)