By Kang Seung-woo
Staff Reporter
AS Monaco striker Park Chu-young failed to extend his goal streak to four matches but did grab an assist in a 4-0 thrashing of Montpellier Thursday (KST) at home.
The 24-year-old didn't put the ball in the net but still had an impact on the game in the 66th minute. With Monaco up 2-0, the South Korean international blasted a shot that was saved by goalkeeper Geoffrey Jourden, but midfielder Lukman Haruna, who scored his career-first goal in the French League twelve minutes earlier, cradled the rebound and tapped it in to put the game out of reach.
Park scored the game-winner in a 1-0 win over Stade Rennais on Dec. 17 and netted an equalizer in each of the two games against Olympique Lyonnais and Le Mans UC 72 in the ensuing weeks.
And he was close to connecting for a goal in the fourth straight match in what was his first appearance of the year because of yellow card accumulation, which forced him to sit out in a Coupe de France match against Tours FC Sunday.
Ten minutes into the first half, Park was in one-on-one with the goalie and fired a shot that was blocked, and in the 78th, his header went off the bar.
He has notched six goals and three assists for Monaco this season.
In the game, Sebastien Puygrenier broke open the game with a header in the 11th minute and Diego Perez wrapped up the goal spree after finding the target three minutes from full time.
The victory propelled Guy Lacombe's side to seventh place on 30 points from a 9-3-7 record.