KEY POINTS:
A late equaliser denied a plucky New Zealand an against-the-odds triumph when they drew 1-all against China early today.
Just as the Oly-Whites - reduced to 10 men shortly before halftime - dared to contemplate what would have been a remarkable win, Li Weifeng pounced with a terrific header three minutes from the end to allow China to breathe a huge sigh of relief.
New Zealand had to battle strength-sapping humidity and heat and a fervent 60,000 crowd in Shenyang's spectacular Olympic Stadium to get their point.
The loss of defender Steven Old, sent off by Uruguayan referee Martin Vazquez for a second bookable offence six minutes before halftime, seemed to put steel into New Zealand spines.
Organised calmly by Blackburn Rovers captain Ryan Nelsen at the back, they ran themselves ragged and will feel they should have hung on.
Players had to cover extra ground to make up for Old's absence, but did the job manfully against a Chinese side desperate to match their women, who beat Sweden in their opener 24 hours earlier.
China had quick, nippy attackers and peppered the left side of New Zealand's defence early on.
They could have given the packed home crowd a booming start in the fourth minute when Han Peng thundered a header against the Oly-Whites' crossbar.
Goalkeeper Jacob Spoonley then reacted swiftly to block Gao Lin when he evaded two defenders.
New Zealand wisely looked to slow the pace of the game, but finding traction in the attacking third was hard going, even with Celtic striker Chris Killen having Hawkes Bay United's hard-running Jeremy Brockie up front for company.
Still, by the half hour mark the Oly-Whites may have figured they'd weathered the early Chinese onslaught and were achieving parity, although they had not had a shot at goal and were largely in a defensive operation.
Then Vazquez took a hand. Having booked central defender Steven Old for a foul in the 27th minute, he ordered the player off after he handled a high bouncing ball in a relatively unthreatening situation covering a Chinese attack, earning a second yellow card.
Yet New Zealand finished the half stronger, midfielder Simon Elliott driving a free kick just wide of the righthand post two minutes before the break.
Then New Zealand stunned the crowd by taking the lead, seven minutes into the second spell. US-based midfielder Craig Henderson chipped a ball through for Brockie to run on and thunder a drive into the Chinese net.
It could have been 2-0 shortly after, but Killen's sharp low free kick was parried wide by Chinese goalkeeper Qiu Shengiong.
China's attacks began to lose their bite as desperation set in, and the Oly-Whites seemed to gain in self-belief as the clock wound down - only to be stunned at the death.
