SECOND-STRING Australia humbled China 2-0 away in an international friendly in Guangzhou on Saturday, landing an important psychological blow ahead of the Asian Cup.

The visitors, missing several top stars, made light of sultry conditions and a lively partisan crowd to run riot early on with goals from Brett Holman and Mark Bresciano, leaving an almost full-strength China looking woefully short of ideas.

Manchester United forward Dong Fangzhuo sparked a revival in the second half, unlocking the Australian defence as Shao Jiayi came close and Hang Peng forced a smart stop from Australia’s Mark Schwarzer.

Australia’s initial domination and solid defensive work against one of the region’s strongest teams confirmed the side’s place among the favorites in its Asian Cup debut this year.

The result increases the pressure on China coach Zhu Guanghu, whose car was attacked by angry fans as he left a match last week.

“We have to improve on one-on-one situations and in the tackle and controlling the ball,” said Zhu.

“We can learn a lot from this match for the Asian Cup and we will do much better in the future, I think.”

(SD-Agencies)