By Yoon Chul
Staff Reporter

Seongnam Chunma grabbed Korea's fourth and final Champions League ticket for 2010 and earned a date with Pohang Steelers in the K-League's penultimate playoff round with a 1-0 win over Chunnam Dragons Wednesday in Seongnam.

Seongnam midfielder Mauricio Molina's header found the back of the net in the 23rd minute and it stood as the only goal of the game until the final whistle.

The Chunma will travel to Pohang for a semifinal match against the Steelers, the 2009 Asian Football Confederation Champions League winners, at the Steelyard Sunday for the right to face regular season winners Jeonbuk Motors in the final.

Prior to the match, Chunnam manager Park Hang-seo said they would attack the Seongnam net from both sides and early on, and it seemed the strategy was working as the Chunma kept the pressure on.

However, it wasn't long before Seongnam gradually began to dominate the game in front of the home crowd at Seongnam Sports Complex, as midfielders Lee Ho and Kim Jung-woo controlled the play.

The Chunma continued their ascendancy and it yielded results in the 23rd minute when Molina connected with Kim Sung-hwan's cross from the right corner and headed the ball in.

The Dragons attempted to counterattack but were met by a stifling wall of Chunma defenders. Chunnam looked to have drawn even when Kim Seung-hyun apparently scored on Seongnam keeper Kim Yong-dae in second half injury time but he was ruled offside.

"I am very happy we achieved our goal and we are going to the Champions League," said captain Kim Jung-woo. "We will win against Pohang."

yc@koreatimes.co.kr