South Korea stuns Aussies to win group
Print Edition
SOUTH Korea upset Australia 1-0 at the Asian Cup yesterday in Brisbane to top the Group A standings and secure a potentially easier path to the final while leaving the host nation facing a treacherous route.
Lee Jeong-hyeop’s first-half goal was all they needed to secure victory heading into the quarterfinals.
Both teams went into the game with six points, and two-time champion South Korea continued a sequence with its third straight 1-0 win. The Australians created opportunities but were held scoreless for the first time in the tournament after posting eight goals and conceding one in their opening games.
The result means Australia will play its quarterfinal against Group B leader China in Brisbane on Thursday, while South Korea will meet the winner of today’s Group B match between 2011 semifinalist Uzbekistan and Saudi Arabia.
China plays North Korea today in its final Group B game. Oman finished third in Group A, picking up its first win with a 1-0 victory over Kuwait in Newcastle.
South Korean coach Uli Stielike was pleased with how his players responded after escaping with unimpressive wins in the opening two games.
“I was not worried about first or second place in the group, but I was worried about our performances in the first two games (narrow wins against Oman and Kuwait),” the German said.
“We had to show our mentality had changed — that it would become a winning mentality, a tournament mentality, and the players showed this today.”
The Australians had almost two-thirds of possession in the first half, created more chances and had two shots on target, but South Korea took full advantage of its first genuine chance in the 32nd.
Captain Ki Sung-Yueng played the ball into the area for Lee Keun-ho, who steered a left-foot shot across the face of goal and Lee finished with a sliding touch to beat Mat Ryan.
The Australians had earlier chances when Tomi Juric shot from 25 yards in the 16th directly at South Korean goalkeeper Kim Jin-hyeon, who saved Nathan Burns’ hard strike at the near post a minute later. Massimo Luongo made some probing runs and created opportunities but the Australians lacked finish.
Australia went close to getting a first-half equalizer when James Troisi pivoted, turned and shot into the side-netting in the 34th. The stadium screen wrongly flashed up a goal, bringing a roar from the 48,513-crowd which was mostly packed with fans in gold jerseys.
Robbie Kruise had a chance for a late equalizer when he was one-on-one with Kim in the 88th, but the Korean goalkeeper made a great save.
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