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| Goals galore in the EAFF opener |
| [ 2010-02-07 ] |
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| Korean national team defeated Hong Kong 5-0 ⓒKFA |
Korea Republic went a step closer to defending the EAFF East Asian Football Championship title, as they defeated Hong Kong 5-0 at National Stadium in Tokyo.
The Taeguk Warriors took a four-goal lead though Kim Jung-Woo, Koo Ja-Cheol, Lee Dong-Gook, and Lee Seung-Yeoul in the first half, before substitute No Byung-Jun completed the fine displays of attacking football on Sunday.
The South Koreans are scheduled to take on China PR, who held hosts Japan to a goalless draw on Saturday, at Tokyo’s Ajinomoto Stadium on Wednesday.
Cruise control
Korea Republic surged forward to take an early lead, with Oh Jang-Eun marauding on the left flank and Koo Ja-Cheol testing his luck from 25 metres inside the first five minutes.
Centre-back Lee Jung-Soo headed down a Koo cross from the left into the path of an unmarked Kim Jung-Woo, who made no mistake from close range to head home the opener in the tenth minute.
And then Kim Bo-Kyung curled in a free-kick from 30 metres in the 24th minute, when Koo beat the offside trap and lurked into the area before chesting down and side-footing the ball over goalkeeper Zhang Chunhui.
Hong Kong did have their chance though, when Cho Yong-Hyung conceded a free-kick on the edge of the area in the 26th minute. However, Li Haiqiang’s rasping drive from 25 metres fell on the roof of the net as Lee Woon-Jae was called into action for the first time.
After collecting a long ball from left-back Park Joo-Ho, Lee Dong-Gook sent a low shot past the goalkeeper but the ball ended up hitting the right post in the 27th minute. However, Lee was not to be denied five minutes later when Kim Bo-Kyung’s free-kick was headed across the goal mouth by Kim Jung-Woo. Lee rose higher than the defenders to head the ball into the top right-hand corner of the net, ending his goal drought of 1,454 days since the match against Mexico on 15 February 2006.
For his part, Lee Seung-Yeoul did not have to wait that long as the FC Seoul starlet scored his first international goal in his third appearance for the Taeguk Warriors. In the 37th minute, Lee exchanged a neat one-two with Oh Jang-Eun on the left side of the area before firing the ball into the top corner to make it 4-0.
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| Koo Ja-Cheol celebrate Team's Second Goal ⓒ KFA |
One-way traffic
After the interval, Koo, Lee Seung-Yeoul, and Lee Dong-Gook all came close to extending the lead in an otherwise uneventful second half.
Lee Dong-Gook’s left-footed volley from a Koo corner was blocked by a defender on the hour-mark. And on a breakaway, Hong Kong launched a rare counter but Kwok Kin Pong’s cross from the left was headed clear by Lee Jung-Soo.
Second half substitutes No Byung-Jun and Kim Jae-Sung kept up the pressure, although the Pohang Steelers duo somehow failed to create clear-cut chances. In the 80th minute, Koo collected Kim Bo-Kyung’s corner before firing a shot just over the crossbar.
In the third minute of the stoppage time, Koo sent a cleaver through ball to Kim Jae-Sung, whose low shot from the right side of the area was parried away by Zhang. However, No latched on to the rebound to tap the ball into the empty net, breaking his international duck in his fifth appearance
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| Lee Seung-Yeoul scored his first international goal ⓒ KFA |
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