China vs Socceroos: 0-0

The Socceroos side held China to a draw last night, keeping them at the top of the ladder in Group A of Asia’s 2010 World Cup qualifiers. Qatar, who beat Iraq 2-0, rise to 2nd place, a point behind Australia.

The Socceroos had almost everything go against them: a spate of injuries, a tough environment to play in, minimal preparation time. Ten minutes into the game, things started looking even worse, as Pim Verbeek was forced to sub Archie Thompson off after he picked up a calf injury.

But chances on both sides were few. China had several opportunities early on, but struggled to come up with the finishing touch. Australia had one excellent opportunity in the first half, Brett Holman laying up a pass for Marco Bresciano, who could do little more than kick it straight at the Chinese ‘keeper. But in all, this was a rather pedestrian match.

The second half saw China emerge stronger, although their work in the final third continued to be their downfall. Lucas Neill and Jade North were excellent in defense, and Mark Schwarzer had relatively little to do. Until the 89th minute, that is.

China’s coach, Vladimir Petrovic, had brought on three substitutes in the first half hour of the second period – undoubtedly an attempt to capitalise on any Australian players struggling with the altitude. And it looked to have paid off, with substitute Qu Bo running into the penalty area and stealing a dubious penalty. “It’s Italy all over again”, somebody at the pub said.

Not quite. A beautiful Schwarzer save brought on the biggest cheer of the game. There could have been bigger cheers a minute later when Bresciano broke free in the box and crossed it to David Carney, but Carney barely connected. A few minutes later, it was game over.

On paper, China away looked like the toughest match in the group stage, especially with the injuries and elevation working against the Socceroos. A win would have been glorious, but a 0-0 draw felt like a victory.

Views from other blogs:

• Confessions of an A-League Junkie
• The Round Ball Analyst
• The Football Tragic