Gazza scores on China debut

Gazza scores on China debut

Gascoigne played 85 minutes on his league debut

Paul Gascoigne scored on his league debut for Chinese team Gansu Tianma on Saturday.

Playing in front of a sell-out 20,000 home crowd, Gascoigne's 14th-minute goal opening the scoring and helped Gansu Tianma to a 2-0 win over Hailifeng.

The former England international played 85 minutes and said he felt "very good" about his performance.

"I played better than my normal level and my team-mates and I worked with each other quite well," he said.

Gansu Tianma's general manager Zhong Bohong was also delighted with the way Gascoigne played and raved about his goal.

"It was really pretty," he said. "He stole the ball in midfield, beat two defenders and carried it all the way in to the edge of the penalty box.

"His shot went into the upper left corner of the net. It was a world-class goal."

Zhong added that Gascoigne was substituted merely as a precaution and said that the player's fitness was not in doubt.

"He was all over the field, in the front, in the back. You could say he flew around the whole field," said Zhong said.

"Not only did he organise the attack, he also helped out in defence."

Team mate Wang Heng sealed victory in the 86th minute.