ID :
187048
Tue, 06/07/2011 - 17:20
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https://oananews.org//node/187048
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S. Korea beats Ghana 2-1 in football friendly
JEONJU, South Korea, June 7 (Yonhap) -- South Korea edged Ghana 2-1 in a football friendly match here Tuesday, thanks to a last-minute go-ahead goal.
With the score tied at 1-1 before more than 41,000 fans at Jeonju World Cup Stadium, about 240 kilometers south of Seoul, Koo Ja-cheol scored the winner in injury time. Ji Dong-won's header from close range was stopped by Ghana's diving keeper Richard Kingson, but Koo, who entered the game in the second half, hammered home the rebound to seal the victory.
South Korea got on the board first in the 10th minute, as Ji soared above two defenders to head the ball past Kingson.
Ji, a 20-year-old who has recently been linked to Sunderland in the English Premier League, now has six goals in 11 career international matches.
Asamoah Gyan tied it up for Ghana in the 62nd, after Sulley Ali Muntari threaded a pass between two defenders to set up the Sunderland striker.
Ghana missed several chances to equalize before Gyan's goal. Gyan was denied on a fast break after the South Korean defense was caught napping in the 51st. A minute later, goalkeeper Jung Sung-ryong was forced to stop Gyan on a hard turnaround shot from point-blank range.
In the 59th, Park Chu-young almost gave the home team a two-goal cushion, but his long-range strike rattled off the crossbar. Then Gyan finally struck to make it a tie game.
Jung was by far South Korea's best player on this night, keeping the score respectable as Ghana kept breaking down the defense with crisp passing and launched shots with relative ease.
Jung denied Gyan on a penalty in the 15th, after defender Hong Jeong-ho brought him down to foil a breakaway chance. Gyan's low penalty shot to his right was easily grabbed by Jung.
After Ji missed a chance to score his second goal in the 20th, it was all Ghana the rest of the action-packed first half. Muntari pounced on a loose ball from just outside the box and forced Jung to make a tough diving save in the 23rd. Gyan's low shot rolled just wide of the left post three minutes later. Then Jung had to make another tough save, this time on Gyan's header in the 31st.
Ghana, a quarterfinalist at last year's World Cup in South Africa, was missing some key names, including Michael Essien of Chelsea in the English Premier League and Kevin-Prince Boatenng of AC Milan in the first-division Italian league. It came in as the top-ranked African nation at No. 15 in the world, 16 spots ahead of South Korea.
This was the second of two friendly matches for South Korea this month. Last Friday, South Korea beat Serbia 2-1 in Seoul. South Korea is getting ready for the Asian qualification for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
With the score tied at 1-1 before more than 41,000 fans at Jeonju World Cup Stadium, about 240 kilometers south of Seoul, Koo Ja-cheol scored the winner in injury time. Ji Dong-won's header from close range was stopped by Ghana's diving keeper Richard Kingson, but Koo, who entered the game in the second half, hammered home the rebound to seal the victory.
South Korea got on the board first in the 10th minute, as Ji soared above two defenders to head the ball past Kingson.
Ji, a 20-year-old who has recently been linked to Sunderland in the English Premier League, now has six goals in 11 career international matches.
Asamoah Gyan tied it up for Ghana in the 62nd, after Sulley Ali Muntari threaded a pass between two defenders to set up the Sunderland striker.
Ghana missed several chances to equalize before Gyan's goal. Gyan was denied on a fast break after the South Korean defense was caught napping in the 51st. A minute later, goalkeeper Jung Sung-ryong was forced to stop Gyan on a hard turnaround shot from point-blank range.
In the 59th, Park Chu-young almost gave the home team a two-goal cushion, but his long-range strike rattled off the crossbar. Then Gyan finally struck to make it a tie game.
Jung was by far South Korea's best player on this night, keeping the score respectable as Ghana kept breaking down the defense with crisp passing and launched shots with relative ease.
Jung denied Gyan on a penalty in the 15th, after defender Hong Jeong-ho brought him down to foil a breakaway chance. Gyan's low penalty shot to his right was easily grabbed by Jung.
After Ji missed a chance to score his second goal in the 20th, it was all Ghana the rest of the action-packed first half. Muntari pounced on a loose ball from just outside the box and forced Jung to make a tough diving save in the 23rd. Gyan's low shot rolled just wide of the left post three minutes later. Then Jung had to make another tough save, this time on Gyan's header in the 31st.
Ghana, a quarterfinalist at last year's World Cup in South Africa, was missing some key names, including Michael Essien of Chelsea in the English Premier League and Kevin-Prince Boatenng of AC Milan in the first-division Italian league. It came in as the top-ranked African nation at No. 15 in the world, 16 spots ahead of South Korea.
This was the second of two friendly matches for South Korea this month. Last Friday, South Korea beat Serbia 2-1 in Seoul. South Korea is getting ready for the Asian qualification for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
