HONG KONG, 23 May 2008 — Hong Kong’s South China staved off a late comeback by Italian team Juventus to clinch a 2-1 victory in an exhibition match yesterday.
Earlier yesterday, in the first of two friendlies played at Hong Kong Stadium, South China invitation team beat Manchester City 3-1.
Like City, Juventus also fielded few star players but initially dominated the hosts.
The Italian side missed early chances, with Marco Marchionni catching South China goalkeeper Zhang Chunhui out of position, only to have his shot blocked by another South China player.
South China opened the scoring in the 22nd minute when Manoel Santos Filho’s shot deflected off another player and past Juventus goalkeeper Jess Kedwell Vanstrattan.
J.W. Bento Dos Santos extended South China’s lead when he found the corner of the goal from the edge of the penalty box in the 45th minute.
Juventus also couldn’t capitalize on its chances in the second half but finally pulled within one goal in the 88th minute when Jonathan Zebina’s header off a corner kick found the back of the net.
Guglielmo Stendardo made another promising header in extra time, but it sailed over the crossbar.
Juventus coach Claudio Ranieri said jet lag and humidity affected his players.
“We tried until the end to draw the match,” he said at a post-match press conference.
Fielding only several players from its regular lineup, Manchester City still dominated the offense in the first half.
Picking up a long pass, Dietmar Hamann opened scoring in the 15th minute with a casual-looking kick that South China goalkeeper Chung Ho-yin caught but dropped and let into the goal.
But South China fought back before the home crowd at Hong Kong Stadium, equalizing in the 27th minute on a diving kick from Giovane Alves Da Silva, who scored off a cross by Goran Stankouski.
Neither side converted again before the half, but South China stunned Manchester City just 2 minutes into the second half as Festus Baise found the net off a rebounded shot blocked by goalkeeper Richard Martin.
South China’s Liang Zicheng extended the lead to 3-1 in the 71st minute. Left alone inside the penalty box, Liang dribbled past Martin before scoring easily. South China captain Cheng Siu-wai said the team had only practiced a few times and that “we had to surpass our usual standard to win.”
City’s loss followed their 1-3 defeat Saturday in Thailand to the Thailand Premier League select XI.
