Chinese Olympic soccer team beaten 1-0 by South Korea

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, March 04, 2004

Chinese Olympic soccer team beaten 1-0 by South Korea

Chinese Olympic soccer team on Mar. 3 was defeated by its South Korean counterpart with 0-1 intheir game of the Asian zone qualifying tournament for the Athens Olympics.

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Chinese Olympic soccer team on Mar. 3 was defeated by its South Korean counterpart with 0-1 intheir game of the Asian zone qualifying tournament for the Athens Olympics.

South Korean squad struggled throughout the game to break down a well-organized Chinese defense anchored by captain Du Wei, with skillful winger Choi Sung-kuk the only player who presented a consistent threat.

South Korean Cho Jae-jin slamed home the winner for his team inthe 82nd minute of the game.

With most of the Chinese team caught out of position, Choi outpaced the Chinese defenders and put the ball past Chinese goalkeeper An Qi, leaving Cho Jae-jin to tap the ball into the empty net from close range.

It was almost the only lapse of concentration by the Chinese side after they had soaked up everything South Korea threw at themup to that point.

"For the whole 90 minutes, we played well," Chinese head coach Shen Xiangfu said afterward. "We made one mistake, and we lost thematch.

"In this team, our defensive system is very good, but South Korea's passing is a strong point, and the result was not so surprising."

South Korean head coach Kim Ho-kon praised his players for taking advantage of the opportunity when it arose.

"You can say it was a mistake by China," he said, "but mistakesare part of football. The game is also about taking the chances you get from your opponents making mistakes."

Choi Sung-kuk's constant imaginative running and switching of positions was a contrast with the play of most of his teammates, who drifted in and out of the game on what was shaping up to be a frustrating night for the home team.

A physical midfield battle saw two players booked in the opening 12 minutes, as both teams looked nervous in their opening group match.

Both teams had scoring chances in the early stages. Du Wei gothis head to Xu Liang's sixth-minute corner at the back post but put his effort narrowly wide, and Cho Jae-jin went just as close two minutes later with a volley from Kim Dong-jin's low cross.

Du Wei had caused an anxious moment for the home fans in the sixth minute, heading just wide from Xu Liang, and produced an identical effort just before half-time

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