China avoided a potential upset by turning a 1-0 halftime deficit into a 2-1 win over Singapore. Zhi Zheng equalized on a controversial penalty just four minutes before Hai Yu scored the game-winner in the 74th minute.
Singapore had taken a shock lead on a nice counterattack just over a half hour into the game. China lost the ball with numbers forward, leading to a two on one break for Singapore. The ball was played to Alexander Duric who finished with his left foot on a near post shot.
After the halftime China began to pressure more and more, and eventually won a penalty. The penalty was saved by the Singaporean backup keeper, Lionel Lewis, and the rebound was put over the bar. However, less than ten minutes later the referee pointed to the spot again.
A long ball was played into the box and the referee ruled that Shaiful Esah pulled his man down, although replays showed that the man went down fairly easy. This time China made no mistake from the penalty spot, with Zheng slotting the ball home. China escaped with a victory when Yu tapped in a rebound after Lewis could only parry the ball into his path.
China now travels to Jordan while Singapore tries to regroup at home against Iraq.
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