SYDNEY — Birthday boy Wang Dalei's penalty stop helped China upset Saudi Arabia 1-0 as a string of top saves made all the difference at the Asian Cup Saturday. South Korea and Uzbekistan also had their goalkeepers to thank as they both won by the same 1-0 scoreline on a cliff-hanging day two in Australia. Surprise result of the day belonged to China, which edged three-time winner Saudi Arabia in Brisbane courtesy of Yu Hai's deflected second-half free kick. His left-footed shot from 30 meters out clipped the back of one of the Saudi defenders and deviated away from the helpless Saudi goalkeeper Waleed Abdullah. Just moments before the goal Wang, who was celebrating his 26th birthday, kept China in it when he dived to his left to save Naif Hazazi's tame penalty. The Chinese surprisingly dominated the first half but almost fell behind in the second term when the Saudis were awarded a penalty after striker Naif Hazazi was hacked down by Ren Hang as he was bearing down on goal. But Hazazi made a hash of his spot kick, lamely booting it straight into the legs of the Chinese goalkeeper Wang Dalei, who was mobbed by his teammates after making the save. “Our tactics worked very well, we hit them on the counter-attacking and caused a lot of trouble for our opponents,” Perrin told reporters. “The match was very, very difficult for us but we gained a lot of joy from it. We've been preparing for this tournament for a long time.” Although Saturday's match was the first of the tournament for both teams, the result could prove decisive to both team's chances of progressing after Uzbekistan, the Group B favorite, earlier beat North Korea. South Korea, World Cup semifinalist in 2002 but seeking a first Asian title in 55 years, got off to an unconvincing start as it beat Oman 1-0 through Cho Young-cheol's strike in stoppage time at the end of the first half in Canberra. English-based goalkeeper Ali Al-Habsi produced some quality saves but had a moment to forget as he parried a rebound to Cho, who gobbled up the chance with a clinical finish. But Korean shot-stopper Kim Jin-hyeon later superbly tipped Imad Al-Hosni's header onto the bar to ensure the Taeguk Warriors came away with all three points. Oman coach Paul Le Guen was left fuming at referee Peter O'Leary's decision to wave away a penalty appeal when Qasim Saeed looked to have been brought down in the box. “I don't want to have an advantage — no, no. I ask for equity,” stormed the Frenchman. “It's a 100 percent penalty, no hesitation. But (we didn't get it) because of what? Because we are Oman? It's a very, very bad decision at this level.” Uzbekistan also relied heavily on goalkeeper Ignatiy Nesterov as it ground out a 1-0 win over unfancied North Korea in torrential rain. Nesterov saw little action in the Group B tie but he was alert enough to acrobatically palm away Pak Kwang-ryong's powerful header just before the final whistle. Man-of-the-Match Igor Sergeev's 62nd-minute header was the only score of a game hit by a mid-match downpour, but Uzbekistan deserved its win in Sydney. Twice Asian player of the year Server Djeparov set up the goal as the 2011 semifinalist showed it could be ready for another assault on the Asian Cup's latter stages. Host Australia got the 16-nation tournament underway with a 4-1 win over Kuwait Friday. The Asian Cup features 32 matches and concludes in Sydney on Jan. 31. Al-Shamrani out of Cup Saudi Arabia captain and forward Nassir Al-Shamrani has been ruled out of the Asian Cup with an abdominal injury. The AFC said on its website Saturday that Al-Shamrani, the AFC player of the year, aggravated the injury during a 2-0 friendly loss to South Korea on Jan. 4 and will be replaced in the squad by Ibrahim Ghaleb. — Agencies
