South Korea midfielder Koo Ja-cheol scored his third goal of the Asian Cup in a 1-1 draw with Australia yesterday in a pulsating encounter in the showcase Group C match of the tournament.
South Korea had the better start between two of Asia’s top teams, and took the lead when Koo received a pass in the area from striker Ji Dong-won and fired a shot past a diving Mark Schwarzer in goal in the 24th minute.
But Australia had the better chances in the second half, and equalised when a chip into the area from captain Lucas Neill found Mile Jedinak, who headed home in the 62nd minute for his first international goal.
“It could have been better when it came to the result of the match,” South Korea coach Cho Kwang-rae said. “For all the fans watching the game, it was very exciting. When it comes to the player’s performance, I quite appreciated their performance.”
Australian Coach Holger Osieck agreed, saying both teams played their hearts out.
“We have seen a very high standard match today. Both teams have great potential,” he said. “It was a good game, at times it was end to end, both teams played football, tried to play football and I think it was not only entertaining, but from a technical point of view very good.”
Osieck praised his team’s performance, especially its success in the second half to close down the Korean’s midfield which was such a threat in the first 45 minutes.
“What I found very encouraging was that we created a couple of chances, particularly in the first half. We could have scored probably a bit more,” he said. “But we never gave up, even when we got the goal from the goalkeeper long ball and there was some turbulence in our penalty area. We never gave in and we got back into the game.”
It was billed as a match of Asian heavyweights – even a possible rehearsal for the final – with some of the best players in the tournament.
It didn’t disappoint.
South Korea captain and playmaker Park Ji-sung, who plays for Manchester United, made his presence felt early by having the first shot on goal in the opening minutes. He would go on to threaten the Australian defense for much of the first half.
Australia, which beat India 4-0 in its opening match, had the first real chance in the seventh minute, Harry Kewell shooting over the crossbar from inside the area and receiving the ball from a free kick.
Tim Cahill had a chance seven minutes later but his header went wide, then angrily protested that he was pushed by a defender.
South Korea, which beat Bahrain 2-1 on Monday, then stepped it up. Using speed to outrun the bigger but often sluggish Australian defenders, the South Koreans repeatedly breached the defense.
It almost paid off when Ji Dong Won’s shot was headed away from an empty net by Cahill in the 18th minute. Five minutes later, Koo took a pass in the area from Ji and scored the opening goal in what goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer blamed on miscommunication between himself and his defenders.
“It was a long a ball and I called for it,” Schwarzer said of the ball that came from Korean keeper Jung Sung-ryong. “The ball didn’t carry through. Unfortunately, once I called for it, the guys let the ball go and it fell to South Korea and they scored. That was disappointing but as a team we stuck together and dug deep.”
Led by Park and Ki Sung-yueng, South Korea kept pressuring and combining well with pretty one-touch passes. The Australians, meanwhile, had the better chances on goal in the last 10 minutes. Again, it was Cahill who almost scored, only to have defender Kim Jin-Hyeon flick the ball away at the last moment.
Australia’s momentum carried into the second half, dominating possession. The Australians’ physical style began taking a toll on their opponents, whose pace slowed significantly. Australia had several shots that flew over before Neil dropped a lovely ball into a crowd of Australians in front of the net.
Jung came for the ball but missed, leaving the net open for Jedinak’s equalizing header. Australia kept the pressure with drive from Kewell saved by Jung in the 84th minute and then Korean responding on the counterattack and Ki just failing to get a shot past Schwarzer.
Australia was especially happy that it fought back from a goal down to earn the tie but felt it should have come away with the victory.
“We have to be realistic. Tonight was massive game and was tough and a point is a good point. Korea is favorite to win this competition,” Cahill said. “But we didn’t finishes our chances. I think we had the chance of winning if I had finished, maybe Harry finishes any of us finishes.”
Neill said he was felt the team showed real heart Friday and had a “hunger” to go far into the tournament.
“We are not the aging, old team struggling for movement. We are hear and we are to go long way in tournament,” he said. “There is definitely a hunger, good harmony, something special happening. The boys are starting to feel this could be a special campaign.”