Lee helps Korea stroll past Romania but still work to do

 

South Korea's Lee Kang-in, left, celebrates with his teammate Kim Jin-gyu, right, after scoring his side's fourth goal as Tudor Baluta of Romania, center, looks down during a men's football match at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Kashima, Japan, Sunday. / AP-Yonhap
South Korea's Lee Kang-in, left, celebrates with his teammate Kim Jin-gyu, right, after scoring his side's fourth goal as Tudor Baluta of Romania, center, looks down during a men's football match at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Kashima, Japan, Sunday. / AP-Yonhap

By John Duerden

For the second game in succession at the Olympics, South Korea dominated possession, but this time it produced a vital three points and a 4-0 win over Romania, Sunday. The team has gone from fourth, and bottom, in Group B into first place.

An own goal in each half, and two late goals from Lee Kang-in gave the Asian team what was, in the end, a comfortable victory.

It wasn't pretty in the first half and 안전놀이터 was some good fortune involved, but after that hugely disappointing 1-0 loss to New Zealand, Thursday, Korea won't mind that two goals were scored by Romanian players and the opposition played the second half with ten men.

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After New Zealand lost 3-2 to Honduras, all four teams now have three points but the Taeguk Warriors are on top thanks to a superior goal difference. Korea will play against the Central American team, who eliminated Korea from the 2016 games, Wednesday. A draw will be enough for Korea to advance to the last eight but all will be wanting a win.

A better performance would be welcome. Korea looked sluggish in the first half and, despite plenty of possession,?struggled to create clear chances. The win was almost in the bag at half-time after Ion Gheorghe was sent off after collecting a second yellow card just before the break. By that time, Korea was 1-0 ahead thanks to an own goal after 27 minutes from Marius Marin who could do little else after a perfect cross.

The red card meant that the second half was one way traffic. Korea had the advantage of the lead and had an extra man and Romania struggled to get out of its half of the field. Lee Dong-gyeong's shot on the hour was deflected into the net and then there was no doubt as to which team was going to win.

It still meant that a Korean had yet to score and there was a great chance to do so with eight minutes remaining after Song Min-gyu had been fouled by Eduard Florescu. Lee Kang-in stepped up to send a low shot deep into the bottom corner and that perfect penalty and the 3-0 scoreline was a fairer reflection of the game. There was better to come, and a first goal from open play. Lee received the ball from Song Min-kyu on the edge of the area and stroked the ball into the same corner once more.

With the red card, it is hard to read too much into the game. Korea should have scored more perhaps but the?final ball was lacking (and there were, at times, players taking too many touches in the area and trying to pass when a shot was very much an option) and the finishing ― especially from star striker Hwang Ui-jo a little disappointing.

Yet this tournament is not about the group stage, it is about getting into the last eight. The important point is that Korea has recovered from that shock opening day defeat and can look forward to Honduras with confidence.

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