the visitors played tightly enough to shut down RSL's short-combination passing and forced Real to play long balls over the top. China also showed no hesitation to shoot the ball, either from distance or after working into the box.
China's Li Tie had a strong shot in the 30th minute after taking a pass from the opposite side of the box; he aimed for the goal from the right side of the box and shot with his right. Seitz, however, had charged out of the goal area and was able to pull the ball in right off of Li's foot.
Real had another chance in the 34th minute after China had a hand ball just shy of 30 yards away from the goal. Williams took the free kick, shooting it straight for the upper left corner of the goal, but the ball flew a foot wide and high.
China found itself with a fine chance in the 40th minute after Harris gave up the ball 30 yards away from his own goal. The ball found its way to Hao Junmin, who unspooled a rocket towards the goal, but Seitz was up to the task and pulled the ball out of the air for the save.
By halftime, China had taken 10 shots, compared to RSL's two. Five of China's shots were taken by Dong Fangzhou, who plays professionally for Manchester United. China's offense came out on fire for the opening minutes of the second half as Dong and Hao each created chances in the box.
Real earned a free kick 30 yards out in the 50th minute; Williams took the kick, sending it to the far side of the box looking for a trio of onrushing teammates. Harris got his head on it, but the shot was too high.
Real earned a pair of good looks in the next 10 minutes. After a run down the left sideline, a cross found Watson eight yards away from the right post, but one-touch attempt hit the outside netting. Harris also created a look for himself after a free kick -- he used his height, footwork and passion to hold onto the ball and get a shot on frame.
At the 63rd minute, Kreis began changes. He inserted Chris Lancos, Alecko Eskandarian, Freddy Adu and Kenny Cutler, and began pushing players forward in an attempt to get the goal. Initially, it took the substitutions some time to acclimate to the pace -- Real did not create any clean looks at the goal, but were able to move the action into China's end of the field.
But in the end, the moves paid off in the 81st minute. A long, high cross from the right sideline found Chris Brown towards the left side of the goal area. Brown deflected it to the right, where Eskandarian was waiting for a quick touch that bounded the ball inside the right post. It was Eskandarian's first goal with Real, and it gave the home side the 1-0 lead that stood up to the end.
Peter Richins is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
