Reggae Boyz lose to China

Jamaica's Reggae Boyz suffered a 1-0 defeat at the hands of China in heavy rain in yesterday's friendly international, which was played at the Hefei Olympic Sports Centre Stadium in China.

The match, which was the latest in the Theodore Whitmore-coached Jamaicans' continued preparation for their FIFA World Cup 2014 qualifying campaign, which starts in just under a year's time, was played in front of a lively crowd and was also the last one for the hosts before their FIFA World Cup 2014 qualifying campaign starts on September 2 against minnows Singapore.

Chinese defender Zhao Peng scored the lone goal in the ninth minute of play, rising unchallenged to head a corner from midfielder Hao Junmin past the Jamaican custodian at the near post and into the back of the net.

Heavy rain, particularly in the second half, limited the quality of play from both teams as players struggled to come to grips with the soggy playing surface and gave away possession cheaply throughout the contest.

Watched with pride

Multiple second-half substitutions changed little for either side and the game wound down to a sloppy, wet ending affair, which also saw Jamaican striker Navion Boyd going off injured in the 71st minute.

In Japan and South Korea 2002, their only World Cup finals appearance, China failed to win a match or even score. Still, some 300 million tuned in to watch with pride.

China's failure to reach the knockout stages of the 2011 Asian Cup in Doha in January deepened fans' frustration over the inability of the world's most-populous nation to succeed in the world's most-popular sport.

But the Chinese have ended a string of five friendly matches with a record of three wins and two draws, beating Honduras, Uzbekistan and the North Koreans, while drawing with Costa Rica and New Zealand.

Jamaica were qualifiers to the 1998 World Cup in France, where they lost to Croatia and Argentina before beating Japan 2-1.