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Fight for dignity: China edge Malaysia 2-1
(FootballAisa.com)
Updated: 2004-05-13 09:18
China ended their Asian Football Qualifiers campaign with a win over Malaysia in an ill-tempered game on Wednesday night.
The result, academic in terms of the outcome of the group, leaves Allan Harris's team bottom of the group with just one draw to their name in their six games. China end the campain in third place with seven points in third post, two points behind Iran. The group winners, by some distance, are Korea Republic, who won their sixth consective game with a 1-0 victory over Iran earlier in the evening.
China, who could only draw with Malaysia when the two met in March, took the lead on 10 minutes when Yan Song rose unchallenged to head home Sun Xiang's corner.
China could have doubled their lead midway through the first half when Mohamed Syamsuri's punch from a cross fell to Sun Xiang whose first-time left foot volley from 20 yards crashed off the post with the Malaysian keeper well beaten.
Malaysia's hopes were lifted when the China captain Hu Zhaojun was sent off for a two-footed lunge on Akmal Rizal but it was not until the 71st minute that the home side made their advantage count, Rizal tucking the ball home from just inside the box.
With the clock running down, Malaysia were themselves reduced to 10 men when Yosri Raju was sent off for hacking down a China forward at the edge of the box.
And from the resulting free-kick from 20 yards out, Xu Liang's strike went through the Malaysia wall and into the back of the net via Syamsuri's left-hand post.
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