South Korea’s Cho Young-cheol (R) scores past Oman’s Ali al-Habsi (L) and Mohamed al-Musalami during their Asian Cup Group A match at the Canberra stadium in Canberra yesterday.
AFP/Canberra
Oman coach Paul Le Guen launched a furious tirade at the referee for not giving a “100 percent” penalty in South Korea’s 1-0 Asian Cup win over his side yesterday.
The Koreans got off to a winning start in their quest for a first Asian Cup trophy in 55 years thanks to a solitary goal from forward Cho Young-Cheol in first-half injury time.
South Korea dominated possession at Canberra Stadium and had several chances to kill the game, but were lucky to take all three points after Oman almost snatched a draw late on.
Frenchman Le Guen insisted the outcome could have been different if New Zealand official Peter O’Leary had awarded a spot kick when striker Qasim Saeed looked to have been scythed down in the box.
“I don’t want to have an advantage—no, no. I ask for equity,” he fumed. “It’s a 100 percent penalty, no hesitation. But (we didn’t get it) because of what? Because we are Oman? It’s a very, very bad decision at this level.
“Sometimes you can have a debate, but in this case there is no debate, no discussion. It’s a penalty, 100 percent,” the former Lyon boss added. “The game could have been different after. If you are 1-0 up it’s definitely different.”
South Korea were quickest out of the traps and Bayer Leverkusen star Son Heung-Min came closest to opening the scoring after seven minutes when he dinked the ball over Oman goalkeeper Al Habsi, only for it to come back off the crossbar.
Al Habsi pushed away a stinging free-kick five minutes before halftime and it looked as if Oman were going to go into the break level before Cho popped up with his goal.
The Qatar-based marksman broke the deadlock when he reacted quickest to bury a rebound after a parry from Al Habsi, a poacher’s goal that delighted a crowd overwhelmingly cheering for the Taeguk Warriors.
Oman were largely on the back foot and their best attempt in the first-half came when Eid Al Farsi curled a free-kick wide.
Le Guen was livid at not being awarded the penalty but when told about his angry rant, South Korea coach Uli Stielike appeared mystified.
“I saw the game like the referee saw it,” said the German. “I don’t know which situation he is talking about. There cannot be a clear penalty or I would remember the situation.”
More South Korea goals seemed certain after the interval but resolute Oman defending kept the scoreline at 1-0.
Midfielder Lee Chung-Yong shaved the post before Al Habsi atoned for his earlier mistake by tipping over a powerful Koo Ja-Cheol header just short of the hour mark. South Korea pushed for a second but were unable to capitalise on their possession and almost paid for it at the death.
Oman substitute Imad Al Hosni almost snatched an unlikely draw when his header was superbly tipped onto the crossbar by goalkeeper Kim Jin-Hyeon.
“I prefer starting the tournament with a hard game like today rather than 5-0 win,” said Stielike. “Then everyone thinks you are already going to win the cup so maybe this is the better way.”
South Korea, one of the tournament favourites and World Cup semifinalists in 2002, last won the Asian Cup in 1960.
Canberra: Japan playmaker Shinji Kagawa suffered a heart-stopping moment during training at the Asian Cup yesterday when he came down awkwardly on his elbow while playing foot volleyball.
Despite the scare, the Borussia Dortmund midfielder insisted he was not seriously hurt as the defending champions prepare for their opening Group D game against Palestine tomorrow.
“It was a bit of a close shave but it’s fine,” Kagawa told Japanese media after sustaining bruising and sitting out the rest of training as a precaution.
“I just landed heavily on my elbow, nothing too serious. It would have been embarrassing to injure myself doing that.”
Kagawa will have added incentive to do well at the Asian Cup in Australia after fracturing a metatarsal in the semifinals of the 2011 tournament and missing Japan’s victory over the Socceroos in the final in Doha.
