Yu Dawei said, "The fans were really excited, shouting: "Win, China, win!" It was wonderful."

Mr Rong said, "We started to count down the time, saying we'd be celebrating in an hour and a half."

Yu Dawei said, "Some people brought their whole families to the game, including their elderly parents. I saw a lot of surprising things. "

Thirteen minute into the first half, Hong Kong scored.

Mr Rong said, "Even after they scored, we still thought it didn't matter. That would only make it 6:1. It wasn't a big deal."

Eighteen minutes later, Li Hui of China scored from a penalty. The match was all square.

Yu Dawei said, "It didn't take Li Hui long to score, and it was 1:1. Our hopes were alive again; the warm atmosphere returned. It was tough at first, but now the Chinese team has got going. It won't be long before the second and third goals come."

In the 38th minute, Li Huajun came onto the pitch, amid loud applause.

The score stayed at 1:1 until the end of the first half. The two teams then headed to the dressing rooms for the interval.

During the 15 minutes, Zeng Xuelin told the team that everything was OK. A draw was good enough for them to qualify. The important thing was not to lose and to defend well."

Outside the stadium, the evening was quiet. People had gone home, after the first summer shower had fallen.

Yu Dawei said, "There was a sudden downpour. But the fans had no intention of leaving. You wouldn't believe it, but many of them didn't even have an umbrella."

Mr Rong said, "Despite the rain, none of us would leave. We just waited.

We'd come a long way to see the match."

Yu Dawei said, "But there something ominous about the rain, as if it was indicative of the fans' tears. That was it."

In the second half, China dominated Hong Kong for the first 18 minutes. But then Hong Kong had a chance.

Hong Kong have won the ball … a quick long shot. The ball rebounds, another shot… It's 2:1 to Hong Kong!