Liaoning lose but put up good showing

BY LEONARD LIM - IF THEIR performance last night was anything to go by, Liaoning Guangyuan's target of a mid-table finish in the S-League should be met.

The Chinese side, making their S-League debut, showed plenty of heart and character despite falling 2-3 to the Young Lions at the Jalan Besar Stadium.

They fought back from a goal down to lead 2-1 at one stage, but were let down by poor defending.

They succumbed to a wonderful equaliser by Erwan Gunawan and a Moudorou Moise winner.

Strikers Zhang Haifeng and Yao Li, who gave his side the shock 2-1 lead on 57 minutes, stood out with their impressive performances.

Zhang's burly, 74-kg frame belied a pacy forward with a keen eye for goal and a cool finish.

A visibly disappointed head coach, Ding Zhe, said: 'We lost by only one goal, but that's still a loss.

'We attacked well in the second half, but left holes at the back as a result and got punished.'

The humidity was a factor too, said Ding.

'We're still trying to get used to the weather here.'

Liaoning lack players with flair and pace, but made up for it with lots of teamwork and hustling for the ball.

Compared to Sinchi, another Chinese side who played in the S-League from 2003 to 2005, Liaoning are technically better and less robust in their play.

Yesterday's match also marked the league debut of Young Lion Hariss Harun, the competition's youngest player at 16.

The central midfielder was unable to exert any influence on the game, however, and admitted as much later.

'I wasn't able to impose myself much, and will try to work on that,' said the Saint Gabriel's Secondary student.

The opening quarter of an hour was a dour affair, with the match only coming to life after a set-piece.

A Khairul Amri free kick from the edge of the box curled round the Liaoning wall but went straight to goalkeeper Qin Xiao.

And when the breakthrough came, Amri was rightly involved.

The tricky dribbler was brought down by Xu Wenbin on 38 minutes, and strike-partner Fazrul Nawaz scored from the spot to bring the Jalan Besar faithful to their feet.

It was not a well-deserved lead, however, with Liaoning looking the better side until then.

Liaoning scored a well-earned equaliser within seconds of the re-start, while sections of the 3,167-strong crowd were still taking their seats.

A speculative ball found Zhang, and he timed his run well between Moise and Ismail Yunos to lash the ball into the top corner.

Ten minutes later, the Chinese side took the lead.

Tong Di and Moise tussled for a long ball just outside the penalty area, and both fell.

Completely unmarked, Yao charged towards the stationary ball and crashed it into the net.

The lead did not last long, though. Gunawan hit a glorious right-footed volley from 20 metres out that went in off the post.

Moise's header in the 66th minute turned out to be the winner.

Young Lions coach V. Sundramoorthy looked relieved that his side managed to get off to a winning start, and praised his opponents' performance.

'Some of their strikers are technically good, making nice, angled runs and getting into open spaces often,' he said.

'But they will still take some time to settle in.'