Sonny, Tottenham beat Team K League in entertaining preseason exhibition
Son Heung-min of Tottenham Hotspur celebrates after scoring his team's fourth goal during a friendly match between Tottenham Hotspur and Team K League at Seoul World Cup Stadium on Wednesday evening. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk
South Korean superstar Son Heung-min netted two goals and his trusted partner Harry Kane also grabbed a brace, as Tottenham Hotspur defeated a team of South Korean league All-Stars 6-3 to kick off their preseason in Seoul on Wednesday.
Spurs and Team K League traded seven goals in the second half at Seoul World Cup Stadium on a rainy summer night, putting on a highly entertaining show that lived up to its considerable hype before a sellout crowd of 64,100.
Eric Dier for Tottenham and Cho Gue-sung for Team K League each had a goal in the somewhat subdued first half, before things opened up over the final 45 minutes.
Dier opened the scoring for Spurs near the half-hour mark, with a well-struck left-footed shot from just outside the penalty arc.
Team K League had some promising moments in the opening minutes without seriously threatening to score. Then only seconds from the end of the first half, Cho, positioned between two defenders, jumped to meet Aleksandar Palocevic's perfectly-placed cross and headed the ball past goalkeeper Brandon Austin to tie the score.
The two teams came out with guns blazing in the second half, trading three goals within the first 10 minutes with substitutes making their presence felt.
Barely a minute into the second half, Team K League defeder Kim Jin-hyuk put Kane's cross into his own net, gift-wrapping a 2-1 lead to Spurs.
Harry Kane of Tottenham Hotspur scores his team's third goal during a friendly match between Tottenham Hotspur and Team K League at Seoul World Cup Stadium on Wednesday evening. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk
Some six minutes later, Lars Veldwijk netted the equalizer for Team K League, with Yang Hyun-jun threading a pass after breaking free from multiple defenders.
But Kane put Spurs up by 3-2 only two minutes later, this time scoring on his own. He was left untouched as he cut toward the middle and fired a low shot with his left foot.
The moment that many came to see materialized in the 68th minute. Spurs were awarded a penalty after Jun Amano was called for handball in his own box, and Son stepped up to beat new goalkeeper Kim Young-kwang for a 4-2 Tottenham lead.
Amano then atoned for his miscue two minutes later by scoring a gorgeous curler of a free kick goal with his left foot and cutting the deficit to 4-3.
Kane then scored his second of the night with a free kick from inches outside the box, after defender Kim Dong-min was sent off for fouling Son from behind on a fast-break opportunity.
Son then put the icing on the cake for Spurs in the 85th minute, when he picked off a dreadful clearing attempt by Kim Ji-soo inside Team K League box and easily beating scrambling goalkeeper Kim Young-kwang for a 6-3 lead.
Looking for a hat trick, Son attempted a diving header during injury time that rolled wide of the target. Kane himself took a crack at a trifecta in the dying seconds, though his left-footed volley was turned aside by Kim Young-kwang.
The K League 1 season will resume on Saturday. On the same evening, Tottenham will face the Spanish club Sevilla FC at Suwon World Cup Stadium in Suwon, 35 kilometers south of Seoul. (Yonhap)