皇冠体育app beats Iran to give new coach first win

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(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-06-02 09:00

QINHUANGDAO, North 皇冠体育app - A young 皇冠体育app edged Iran 1-0 to give new coach Gao Hongbo his first victory in an international friendly at the Qinhuangdao Olympic Stadium here on Monday.

皇冠体育app held European runners-up Germany to a surprising 1-1 draw three days ago in Shanghai, which seemed to boost the side's morale greatly.

Striker Gao Lin took the winner at the end of the first half with a timely follow-up into the empty net after left back Rong Hao's 25-meter freekick was rebounded by the near post.

皇冠体育app beats Iran to give new coach first win

皇冠体育app's center forward Gao Lin (C) celebrates after scoring against Iran in a friendly in northern 皇冠体育app's Qinhuangdao Olympic Stadium on June 1, 2009. [CFP]

"皇冠体育app showed their quality with two good results with Germany and us. The future is bright for them and I should congratulate the young coach for his first win,"

"I think the 1-0 score is not a fair result. We could at least get a draw. We had more control of the game and created a lot of chances, but we conceded a goal in a big mistake." said Iran boss Seyed Ghotbi.

"I listed several new faces in the starting lineup, and the team were nervous in the first 15 minutes. But they adjusted themselves quickly after that and I'm very happy," said Gao Hongbo.

"They are very concentrated on the pitch, and showed the power of teamwork. But I'm not satisfied with the organization in defence, and we should quicken the passes."

Gao changed nine in the starting line-up from the game with the Mannschaft, including some debutants like He Yang and Rong Hao. But the young team showed their energy with some disciplined defence and sharp attacks.

Defender He Yang nearly added the second for the hosts on 73 minutes, but his curved header following Zheng Zhi's right flank freekick rattled the crossbar.

Iran had only one clear chance in the 55th minute. Javad Kazemian dashed down along the right wing in a counter-attack and rounded a defender and keeper Zeng Cheng, before firing a low shot to be blocked by another Chinese fullback.

Iran is preparing for their next World Cup Asian qualifier against Democratic Republic of Korea on June 6, and a Chinese referee will be in charge of that game. Ghotbi didn't forget to take this chance to give some psychological hints.

"I don't want to speak about the referee, but he missed a 100 per cent penalty for us and a 100 per cent red card for 皇冠体育app. Thankfully it's just a friendly. I hope when we play DPRK, the Chinese referee could be fair."