After a narrow 1-0
win in their first friendly on 22 August, China fell 3-2 to Nigeria on the
25th in their second warm-up in Linyi, Shandong province. In the end, the
score actually flattered the hosts as they were three down after 85
minutes, and only a last gasp of two quick goals salvaged the pride of the
Steel Roses.
China coach Ma Liangxing made significant changes to the team¡¯s line-up
prior to the encounter, apparently in an attempt to experiment with his
team¡¯s forward line. Veterans Sun Wen and Bai Jie both started, but Bai
was withdrawn to her old position at left back and replaced up front by
the younger Teng Wei. Zhao Lihong, the pillar of China¡¯s midfield, was
notably absent from the starting eleven.
For the Super Falcons of Nigeria the victory is welcome relief from a
tough string of results that included the single goal loss to China, and
3-2 and 3-0 losses to Norway and Germany respectively.
An interesting duel
As expected, China came out strongly. In the 10th minute, Teng Wei was
bundled off the ball, and when it fell to Sun Wen her clever strike flew
just wide of the post. In the 32nd minute, it was Teng Wei¡¯s turn to miss
the target after a quick break.
After withstanding China¡¯s initial onslaught, the African champions
began venturing forward themselves. Spreading the ball well from wing to
wing, it was their turn to test China¡¯s new-look defence, and in the 37th
minute, that pressure paid off. A well-worked move down the right found
emerging scoring sensation Perpetua Nkwocha in space, and she set things
rolling for Nigeria. And, just five minutes later, Nigeria¡¯s number 10,
Mercy Akide, slipped through a hole in China¡¯s defence and the Africans
had stretched the lead to 2-0.
China coach Ma revamped his side at the break, successively bringing in
veterans Fan Yunjie and Zhang Ouying (who plays for San Diego in the WUSA)
and nimble midfielder Pan Lina. Apart from the absence of Zhao Lihong, the
Chinese quartet of Pu Wei, Pan Lina, Zhang Ouying and Liu Ying was
virtually a first choice midfield.
The readjustment took time to have effect but eventually resulted in a
series of dangerous crosses from Pu Wei and Zhang Ouying. In the 75th
minute, Bai Jie jinked through into the box but a timely intervention by
the Nigerian goalkeeper foiled her solo effort.
Another goal and a comeback
With China pushing forward, desperate for goals, they inevitably were
vulnerable at the back. With only 10 minutes remaining and most of the
home team committed to attack, Nigeria¡¯s number seven Stella Mbachu had
loads of space to round off a counterattack. Now China were three goals
behind and facing an embarrassing rout that could effect their entire
preparation process.
The Steel Roses responded admirably, however. First, in the 86th
minute, defender Li Jie charged forward and crashed a long-range effort
past the Nigerian keeper. A minute later Zhang Ouying blasted another long
shot that was blocked, but the ball dropped to Fan Yunjie to score.
China continued to pile on the pressure in the dying minutes, but they
could not find a way through. The Africans thus claim their first ever
victory over China in four tries, and they now head into the FIFA Women¡¯s
World Cup USA 2003 with that much more momentum than before.
China¡¯s coach Ma¡¯s stated aim for the warm-up matches was to try out
new formations, have a look at different tactics and give new players some
experience. What is clear from this match is that the China misses an
attacking threat out of midfield when Liu Ailing is absent. The defence
quite clearly may need another look as well in the three weeks before the
start of USA 2003.
At the finals China are in Group D along with Ghana, Australia and
Russia. Nigeria will face the United States, Sweden and Korea DPR in Group
A.
