China Held to 2-2 Draw by Ten-Man South Korea

China Held to 2-2 Draw By South Korea in Asian Cup

The modest China almost turned the table around but had to be content with a 2-2 draw with South Korea in a Asian Cup match held in Tripoli on Friday.

China, who had never beat South Korea in any major tournaments for more than a decade, came back two times when they were down and even had one-man advantage for over 20 minutes.

But the dedicated Koreans picked up their confidence after skipper Hong Myung-Bo was expelled in the 64th minute after he protested for a penalty calling.

"I'm very happy with one point getting from Koreans," said China's head coach Bora Milutinovic. "My players have tried the best. They are great."

This is the first time for the Chinese to get points from the Koreans in the Asian Cup back from the 1980s.

"We missed some chances down the string, and the scoreline should not be 2-2," Korean coach Huh Jung-Moo said.

In Friday's other game of group B, Kuwait were held to a goalless draw by Indonesia.

Koreans could have kept their winning streak against China if Yoo Sang-Chul could have converted a six-minute penalty, but his strike was parred away by goalkeeper Jiang Jin.

Jiang, who was the player of the match, saved Seol Ki-Hyeon's header with his leg but the ball bounced back under the feet of Lee Young-Pro before he scored the goal in the 26th minute.

The Chinese played unusual consistent football after conceding the goal and their efforts paid off in the 36th minute when striker Su Maozhen headed in the equaliser on defender Chen Gang's

cross.

Noh Jung-Yoon's brilliant shot put South Korea ahead again on a fast corner just on the stroke of one hour.

But China pulled it back again six minutes later when Crystal Palace defender Fan Zhiyi made the penalty after Su was brought down in the box by Hong Myung-Bo.