Matchday One

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Matchday One

A Night Of Surprises In Qinhuangdao

by Jeremy Ruane

There's one thing to say for FIFA accreditation - it certainly opens doors for you!

It doubles as my Chinese visa during the course of the Olympics, and once I got to the front of the queue to check in for my flight from Shanghai to Qinhuangdao on day two of my Olympic Odyssey, and showed it to the folk at the desk, the attention levels simply sky-rocketed.

Having anticipated being among the rank and file in “cattle class”, I suddenly found myself escalated to VIP status, with all the trimmings - personal escort to the plane, first class departure lounge privileges, a front row seat on the flight … it was a bit much to take in around 7am, but I don't seem to recall complaining too much! Funny, that!!

A smooth Shanghai Airlines flight over the Bohai Sea to my first base of operations - pronounced Shinhwangdow - ensued, and a shared cab to our respective hotels with the parents of US women's star, Angela Hucles, was an added bonus. Very nice folk, and, rightly, well proud of their daughter's achievements in the game.

The Qinhuangdao Grand Hotel lives up to its middle name in every sense - this hotel is a belter! Five-star, all the bells and whistles … the world's media are well catered for in this establishment, let me assure you!

Mid-afternoon, I joined the early departures on the media shuttle for the half-hour trip to the Qinhuangdao Olympic Sports Centre Stadium. What a complex! It cost $70m to build in just over two years and is a quite stunning facility, with the main stadium supplemented by a smaller stadium, two training pitches, basketball and tennis courts galore … terrific venue. Oh, but if one such establishment were in place back home …

So to the day's action, with the repeat of last year's FIFA Women's World Cup Final being upstaged by a night of surprises in Qinhuangdao. Full reports appear separately, but the USA's calendar year-long unbeaten streak coming to an end at the hands of a Norwegian team which, through Leni Larsen Kaurin - the fastest in the four-tournament history of Olympic Women's Football - and Melissa Wiik, struck twice in the first four minutes, was anticipated by very few.

Those who did certainly didn't anticipate the outcome of the day's opening encounter, when our fearless Football Ferns again filed notice to the footballing world - not to mention the ignorant folk back home who suggested their presence here was inappropriate - that they are no longer a team to be taken lightly.

There was one highly delighted soccer scribe in the media tribune when Kirsty Yallop and Amber Hearn fired the cherubs into a 2-0 lead over a Japanese team featuring seven players who featured in their 5-0 drubbing of the New Zealand team in Tokyo in May, 2005.

There was one rather crestfallen soccer scribe come the final whistle, however, as goals in the last eighteen minutes from two of that septet - Aya Miyama, from the penalty spot, and Japan's greatest ever female footballer, Homare Sawa - ensured Nadeshiko would snatch a draw from the jaws of defeat by a Football Ferns combination whose post-match mood reflected that of this writer.

Before kick-off, I'd have taken a 2-2 draw quite

happily, but having been 2-0 up … it's a strong result, however, one which emphasises the immense improvement of this team, only four of whom took to the field during that Tokyo encounter just 38 months ago.

Germany and Brazil, of course, have clashed far more recently than that, and renewed their rivalry in Shenyang, home to the Olympic Women's Football Tournament's “Group of Death”.

Defences dominated this latest encounter, which finished scoreless, but could easily have gone either way. Germany's Sandra Smisek and Brazil's Renate Costa both rattled the woodwork, while Cristiane and Marta were both denied by Nadine Angerer, although Germany's goalkeeper could only look on late in the match, when the reigning FIFA World Women's Player of the Year missed a sitter with the goal at her mercy.

The other “Group of Death” duel saw North Korea edge Nigeria 1-0, thanks to a first half goal from Kim Kyong Hwa which provided scant reward for their dominance to this point. Indeed, Ri Kum Suk missed a penalty as the Koreans dished out a footballing lesson to the African champions, who were fortunate to only concede just one goal in the end.

2-1 victories to Canada and host nation China, over Argentina and Sweden respectively, ensured the Tianjin-based group of the start the local faithful desired for their beloved “Steel Roses”.

Xu Yuan's early goal gave them the ideal start to the match, but Chinese fans fell silent when Lotta Schelin levelled matters for the Swedes seven minutes before half-time. It was left to the darling of the Chinese women's game, Han Duan, to conjure up the winning goal, her unerring missile thundering into the net eighteen minutes from time to set up the Olympic Games for the host nation, who have invested zillions both preparation-wise and infrastructure-wise to ensure a successful Olympiad.

Canada were made to work hard for their victory over an Argentine team which has enjoyed very few opportunities to play since last year's Women's World Cup Finals. But Candace Chapman, following a corner, and Kara Lang secured the win with their goals, the latter's resulting from a free-kick after she had earlier been denied a goal for an infringement.

Substitute Ludmila Manicler's strike five minutes from time kept the Canucks honest till the end, however, and sets up a second round clash between the two opening day winners in this group, the victor of which will be the first team through to the quarter-finals.

Women's Matchday One Summary:

Group E (Tianjin)

Canada 2 (C. Chapman (27), K. Lang (72)), Argentina 1 (L. Manicler (85)) HT 1-0

China 2 (Xu Yuan (6), Han Duan (72)), Sweden 1 (L. Schelin (38)) HT 1-1

Group F (Shenyang)

Brazil 0, Germany 0

North Korea 1 (), Nigeria 0 HT 1-0

Group G (Qinhuangdao)

Japan 2 (A. Miyama (72 pen), H. Sawa (86)), New Zealand 2 (K. Yallop (37), A. Hearn (56 pen)) HT 0-1

Norway 2 (L. Kaurin (2), M. Wiik (4)), USA 0 HT 2-0

2008