South Korea salvage ‘fortunate’ late 2-2 draw with Jordan at Asian Cup
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Jordan's Yazan Al Arab scoring an own goal for South Korea during their 2-2 Asian Cup draw.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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DOHA – Son Heung-min’s South Korea avoided an Asian Cup upset by the skin of their teeth on Jan 20 after an own goal in stoppage time gave them a 2-2 draw with Jordan.
A day after Iraq stunned tournament favourites Japan, Jordan looked to be heading for a famous win in Doha after a Park Yong-woo own goal and a Yazan Al-Naimat strike in the first half cancelled out Son’s ninth-minute penalty.
But Yazan Al-Arab deflected the ball into his own net in the first minute of injury time at the end of the game at Al Thumama Stadium to let Jurgen Klinsmann’s men escape with a point in Group E.
A win for either team would have sent them through to the knockout rounds with a game to spare, but Son was still relieved with the draw nonetheless.
“There were many situations where we conceded goals because of our mistakes,” the South Korea captain said.
“We talked about the need for improvement in these areas. And because there was still time (to get an equaliser), there will gradually be more space as the game wore on and more chances will come.
“The equaliser at the end of the second half was a fortunate goal and result for us.”
Klinsmann’s side beat Bahrain 3-1 in their opening match and face already-eliminated Malaysia in their final group game on Jan 25. Qualification for the last 16 is still within their grasp.
As it is for Jordan, who beat Malaysia 4-0 earlier and face Bahrain on the same day.
Klinsmann was forced into one change from the first game, bringing in goalkeeper Jo Hyeon-woo for Kim Seung-gyu.
Kim suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during a training session and has been ruled out for the rest of the tournament.
The South Koreans also had five players on yellow cards from their game against Bahrain.
But Son settled their nerves with the opening goal after they were awarded a penalty following a VAR (video assistant referee) check. Ehsan Haddad was adjudged to have brought down the South Korean skipper and he converted the spot kick himself with a cheeky chip.
He celebrated by holding up a goalkeeper’s shirt with Kim’s name on it.
South Korea’s Son Heung-Min celebrates scoring their first goal against Jordan.
PHOTO: REUTERS
The Taegeuk Warriors were dominant, but Jordan started to threaten and grabbed an equaliser in the 37th minute.
South Korea failed to deal with a corner and Park bundled the ball into his own net under pressure.
Al-Naimat then lashed Jordan into a shock lead in the sixth minute of first-half injury time, drilling a shot into the bottom corner from the edge of the box.
South Korea struggled to find a response in the second half and Cho Gue-sung was guilty of a terrible miss when he screwed a shot over the bar on the hour mark.
They did not look like scoring, until Hwang In-beom sent in a shot in injury time that Al-Arab deflected into his own goal.
There was also added-time drama in the other Group E game on Jan 20. Malaysian hearts were broken when Ali Madan scored in the 95th minute to give Bahrain a 1-0 victory at Jassim bin Hamad Stadium. AFP
