KEY POINTS:
Any concerns Waitakere United players and coaches might have harboured after last month's 7-0 loss to the Wellington Phoenix and the subsequent 6-1 loss by the Phoenix to Adelaide United on Friday night, were partially allayed in Ningbo on Saturday when they beat Zhejiang Greentown 3-1 to win the Ruishi Cup.
Curiously, the players have yet to lay their hands on the trophy which, after being on display during the game, strangely disappeared soon after.
There were plenty of positives from the Waitakere performance in near-freezing conditions as they look ahead to Thursday's Fifa World Club Cup clash with Adelaide in Tokyo.
Two well-constructed second half goals ensured the visitors of a richly-deserved victory in the inaugural Sino-New Zealand Football Challenge between the sister cities of Ningbo and Waitakere.
"I definitely got out of the game what I wanted," said Waitakere coach Chris Milicich. "To beat the eighth best team who play in China's professional league is no mean feat. We kept our shape and at this level it is all about not conceding goals.
"This game was about winning."
The challenge now is to take the same frame of mind and determination into the game with Adelaide.
There were positives from the game at the Ningbo Sports Centre.
A couple of telling midfield tackles from no-frills midfielder Chris Bale and subsequent 40m cross-field balls which in turn led to vital second half goals and earned him consideration as man of the match.
Jake Butler's long-range cross led to Allan Pearce's ninth-minute opening goal. Neil Emblen, handed the captain's arm-band, was as steady as ever in leading the defence. Paul Seaman, a doubtful starter leading up to kick-off because of a dodgy stomach, led the midfield valiantly.
Within a couple of minutes of Pearce scoring his well-taken opener, the home side levelled at 1-1 when midfielder Wailliton scored.
Waitakere appeared to have regained the lead a minute from halftime when a Pearce corner was not cleared and appeared to have been squeezed across the line. The linesman agreed, the referee did not and it was play on.
Ten minutes into the second half Bale picked out Pearce wide on the left. Two touches later Roy Krishna had the ball in the back of the Zhejiang goal.
Rarely under pressure thereafter, Waitakere comfortably held on and made it secure three minutes from time when, from another decisive Bale ball played wide, substitutes Benjamin Totori and Daniel Kopricvic combined before finding another second half substitute Jeff Campbell who calmly headed home.
"In my mind it confirmed my thinking ahead of naming the team to play Adelaide," said Milicich. "First and foremost, it was about winning. We did that and a lot more. We can go from here with some confidence."
