Finland beaten in Beijing

China 5-0 Finland
Finland's preparations for the forthcoming UEFA European Women's Under-19 Championship faltered again yesterday, when they were beaten by China in Beijing.

Promising opening
In their first game since a 1-0 defeat by Scotland on 28 March, Finland started well against a strong Chinese side. At half-time the scores were still level and the Finnish back line, shored by captain Nelli Berg, looked comfortable against a side that featured two full internationals.

Danda double
The deadlock was broken shortly after the restart when Finland failed to clear a corner and Wang Danda pounced to blast the ball beyond goalkeeper Minna Meriluoto. A few minutes later, Danda doubled China's lead with a long-range strike.

Capitulation
From then on China were in complete control. A third goal soon followed when Peppiina Pentti deflected the ball past Meriluoto and the fourth, a few minutes later, was another own-goal as defender Meri Viljanen headed a Chinese corner into her own net. Poor marking at the end of the game brought a fifth goal for the Chinese.

Loss of concentration
Matikainen said the turning point was Danda's double soon after half-time: "The match was decided by two moments of individual skill. Our defensive play lost track after that and China punished us hard." The two teams meet again on Wednesday 5 May.