Strong start for China in AFC Futsal Championship Qualifiers
Bangkok: China PR started their AFC Futsal Championship East Zone Qualifiers campaign strongly, beating Hong Kong 5-0 on Saturday.
In a three-team Group B, Hong Kong and China understood very well that every match was important and maintained a strict balance between offence and defence in the first few minutes.
Xu Yang could have opened the scoring in the sixth minute, when he dribbled past Hong Kong's defence and goalkeeper only for his shot to hit the crossbar.
Hong Kong's Lam Chun Kit was definitely the busier custodian, fending off constant strikes but China had their own share of mistakes which gave Chan Fei Tat's side confidence to retaliate.
As the game progressed, there were signs of Hong Kong breaking under China's constant pressure and three minutes from half-time, they finally cracked when Li Jianjia scored the first goal of the match after finding an opening and scoring from the second penalty spot.
Xu Yang then doubled China's lead with a strike from the right flank into the top left corner of the net seconds before heading into the break at the Bangkok Arena.
Zeng Liang (pictured above) furthered China's advantage in the 23rd minute with a superb shot that caught Lam off guard.
Li Xin's side showed tremendous synergy in the second half, showing off their accurate passing that led to Peng Boyao etching his name on the scoresheet in the 33rd minute, before Li scored his second in the final 10 seconds.
Chan Fei Tat, Hong Kong Head Coach
"China was definitely stronger, and it's because our players lack the experience. We had two golden opportunities in the second half but because our players lack the experience to handle the situation, we missed. But we are still going strong, and keeping our fighting spirit till the very end. I know the team is trying their very best."
Li Xin, China PR Head Coach
"Hong Kong was a difficult opponent. Their tactics kept changing and we had to adapt really quickly. The team performed the way we trained and have the capacity to take all their scoring opportunities."
Photos: Football Association of Thailand
Source: the-afc.com
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