Wu Chengshu (R) of Canberra United competes during the first round match against Perth Glory at the 2022-2023 season of A-League Women in Canberra, Australia, Nov. 19, 2022. (Photo by Chu Chen/Xinhua)
Chinese female footballer Wu Chengshu scored her first goal in the A-League in Australia in the day of Chinese Kitchen God Festival or Xiaonian.
CANBERRA, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- In the match against Newcastle Jets on Saturday, which was the Chinese Kitchen God Festival or Xiaonian, Chinese female footballer Wu Chengshu scored her first goal in the A-League in Australia.
"This is my first 'purchase' for the Chinese New Year," she said on Twitter-like Sina Weibo.
Wu, playing for Canberra United, had the ball deflected into her face before bouncing into the net.
Canberra United finally beat the Jets 5-1 at McKellar Park in Round 10 of the A-League.
"Happiness falls all of a sudden," she told Xinhua in an interview after the match.
"My family and friends all watched the match, and no one had expected to see my first goal scored with the face."
The 26-year-old joined the club last November but had surgery in December due to a facial injury. The match against the Jets was only her third after coming to Australia.
She had been wearing a mask to protect the injured part at the beginning of the match, but later removed it due to the summer heat in Canberra.
Recalling the goal, she said jokingly: "You have to get up where you fall, and score with where you injured."
But seriously she believed that she could score anyway even without the deflection. "I was already in the position," Wu said.
During the past three matches, Wu is getting used to the tempo of A-League gradually.
In her debut she helped Canberra United seize a 2-2 draw with Perth Glory, hitting the bar with a right-footed shot from outside the box in the seventh minute and creating some chances in the second half.
In her second match against the Brisbane Roar, she helped her teammate to tap the ball home and give Canberra the lead, before getting injured on the face.
During her absence, Canberra United suffered three consecutive defeats.
Wu said that she had wished to return to the field soon.
In Canberra, she was playing in a different position from what she did in the Chinese national team. Now she is more used to the role of a central midfielder. "I cannot run loosely," she said.
The FIFA Women's World Cup will be jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand later this year.
Wu hoped that she could keep her form at the A-League so as to help the Chinese national team achieve a good result.
"I hope that my good luck in the new year could continue," she said.
"I am also looking forward to being selected into the Chinese national team, and scoring on behalf of China." ■
