In one of the most dramatic endings to a game in the 2015 Women’s World Cup, a 91st minute goal by Wang Lisi gave China a 1-0 victory over the Netherlands on Thursday.
China comfortably won the battle of possession and territory but it took until injury time to settle the contest.
Goal scoring chances were at a minimum all game, especially for the Dutch, who will be disappointed by their lacklustre display. Other than a Vivianne Miedema chance halfway through the opening 45 minutes, the Chinese goalkeeper Wang Fei was virtually a spectator until the latter stages of the match.
China, on the other hand, were able to force a couple of good opportunities – firstly through the dangerous Peng Han, whose close range shot was tipped over the bar well by Dutch keeper Sari Van Veenendaal, then late in the opening half when Ren Guixin had a great chance but could only loop her header into the hands of the keeper.
The Asian side then could have taken a deserved lead in the opening moments of the second half after Tang Jiali cut in from the left but her off-balance shot was turned away for a corner.
Although the Orange Lionesses came into the game in the closing minutes, it was again China that would come closest to scoring. Tang hit a rasping drive from 25 yards out that was brilliantly tipped onto the bar by the impressive Van Veenendaal. Then in the last 10 minutes, substitute Jan Ma hit a close range effort over the bar.
Just when it appeared it wasn’t going to be China’s day, Wang made her decisive contribution, latching onto a hopeful cross-field ball and applying a controlled finish into the far corner of the Dutch goal. The keeper and centre half will both be blamed for their indecision in allowing Lisi to get to the ball but the quality of the finish was undeniable.
It was a thoroughly deserved three points for a hard working young China side, who have now given themselves a great chance of making a surprise appearance in the knock out stages.
Whilst the Dutch team will be annoyed to have conceded so late in the game and thus thrown away a vital point, they can have no complaints about the result. They know that they will have to play much better if they are to have a real impact on this tournament – a sentiment echoed by head coach Roger Reijners after the game.
“After a period we became separated on the pitch allowing China to gain control of the midfield,” explained Reijners.
“We needed to become more compact. China are an organised team and if you give you opponent this much space then it is normal they will be better.”
