Defender Wu Xi was the hero for the host in the night when his last-gasp shot fired China to beat the spirited Kyrgyzstan side 2-1 and clinch a safe place in Group A to qualify for the next round in the Asian Games soccer tournament.

Striker Lu Wenjun struck late to equalise and Wu netted the decisive goal after a bunch of shots were rejected by crossbar, post and the opponent's desperate defence.

The first victory helped the host stay in the quest for the last-16 berth after it lost 3-0 in its opener against Japan.

Japan beat Malaysia 2-0 earlier in the day and led the group with six points. China now faces a must-win clash with Malaysia on Saturday as both sides get three points and Malaysia has one more goal difference.

The host's stand-in coach Sun Wei fielded a 4-2-3-1 formation onto the ground, replacing the starting striker Lu Wenjun with Li Kai as the centre forward.

China looked a bit loose at the beginning. The visitor geared up first and stunned the expectant crowd after just five minutes.

A powerful free kick hit through the wall and Sidoren found the ball bounced back in the area, easily beating the helpless keeper Zhang Shichang to open the scoring.

After the shocking blow, the host gradually found their pace and dominance in the midfield.

But their efforts were too hotheaded and simple.

Relying too much on flanks to send the ball in middle was clearly not enough to challenge the in-form keeper Agapov M.

The lone striker Li Kai nearly equalized the score seconds before the break when his powerful header hit the crossbar amid sighs from a fanatic 38,000 crowd.

Chinese footballers seemed to totally forget wearing their boots after the restart.

More impatient, more goal-scoring chances wasted.

The host's best chance came on 49th minute when Wang Xuanhong was fed the ball clear in the area but his one-on-one shot unbelievably soared to the stands.

15 minutes left, the same story happened. Li Kai was empty in the area and his powerful shot failed to beat the desperate keeper but himself, seeing the ball fly above the bar, again.

In front of the spirited and disciplined Kyrgyzstan, China couldn't find the net until the 83rd minute.

The substituted Lu Wenjun prove his first-choice value to the coach with an accurate header hammering to the dead corner.

Two minutes into the stoppage time, the "bar nightmare" came again. Chinese players shot twice, and hit the bar twice.

Last minute, Wu didn't let the host's tragedy happen.

His calm shot in the middle of the area helped the perennial football underachiever seal the hard-fought victory.

(Xinhua News Agency November 11, 2010)