Schwarzer's save secures draw for Australia

Goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer saved an 89th-minute penalty to help an injury-depleted Australia side scrape a 0-0 draw against China in their Asian World Cup qualifier in Kunming yesterday.

The veteran Middlesbrough stopper went from villain to hero in the space of a minute, saving Shao Jiayi's spot kick after he brought down Chinese striker Qu Bo in the penalty area.

"To lose that match to a late penalty would have been a disaster for us because I thought we deserved to get something out of the game," Schwarzer said.

Australia went into the match, played in front of a near-capacity crowd in the southwest China city, minus Harry Kewell and a number of their key Europe-based players who withdrew late with injuries.