China defeats USA by 3-0 at the FIH Champions Challenge II
China whacked USA by 3-0 win in the Pool A fixture played on Sunday, July 3 to continue their winning-streak in the 2011 FIH Champions Challenge II in Lille, France.
The hard-fought match, especially in the first half, where both the opponents created a number of goal-scoring opportunities, but both of them remained goal-less in the first thirty-five minutes of the match.
The Chinese were really flying throughout the match, but Tom Sheridan, the US goal-keeper, seemed at his best in the first half in which he made several blocks and kept China deprived of any score. The US defence line too played exceptionally well in the
first half and fully supported their goal-keeper. Although the Chinese came very near to open their account, but they remained unlucky on a number of occasions because of the brilliance of the US defence and their goalkeeper. The first half ended at 0-0.
The second half was full of entertainment as the Chinese were really on fire throughout the last thirty-five minutes in which they found the US net thrice. They took the lead with only three minutes into the second half, when Na Yubo made a wonderful field
effort in the 38th minute and put his team ahead of USA by a goal. However the Chinese had to wait till the 57th minute to double their tally and this time it was Liu Xiantang who scored the goal through a dashing field effort. The final
strike came into play seven minutes after the second goal and six minutes before the end of the final half, when E Liguang tripled the lead which lasted until the end.
“Despite the loss the team is progressing. We’re moving forward with the amount of time that we can compete with high-level teams. In order to make the final push we need to convert chances, keep attacking the 25 [meter line], and get penalty corners. That’s
what will help us as we move on to our next game versus Austria.” Patrick Cota, the midfielder of the USA men’s national hockey squad, stated after the match.
The USA men will face Austria in their next fixture on Tuesday, July 5, while the Chinese men will be up against Czech Republic on the same day.
Tags: