 National team forward Ji Dong-won celebrates after scoring the first goal in a 2-1 victory against Ghana in friendly at Jeonju World Cup Stadium, Tuesday. / Yonhap |
South Korea beat African powerhouse Ghana 2-1 in a friendly at Jeonju World Cup Stadium, Tuesday.
Chunnam Dragons forward Ji Dong-won opened the score with a header in the 10th minute, connecting to a corner from Celtic midfielder Ki Sung-yueng that was partially deflected by Ghanaian goalkeeper Richard Kingston.
Ji, in the middle of transfer rumors to English Premier League club, Sunderland, thus showed his worth alongside Ki — dubbed the Korean Steven Gerrard — as an attacking partnership, which they did throughout the rest of the match.
Current Sunderland forward Asamoah Gyan, who equalized in the second half, failed in a penalty attempt five minutes later to even the score.
A long free kick from Kingston out of Ghana’s half reached him near the penalty box where contact with Hong Jung-ho gave the visitors the spot kick.
However, Gyan’s low delivery was easily collected by Korean goalie Jung Sung-ryong at the left post.
Koo Ja-cheol’s final touch in stoppage time provided the game winner for a dramatic victory in a see-saw match.
Early in the first half at the fully occupied stadium with over 41,000 spectators, Ki’s long passes often landed in the path of Ji or AS Monaco forward Park Chu-young.
Despite his initial failure, Gyan continued to be able to penetrate into Korean territory, threatening the home side with a header in the 31st minute that Jung fortunately collected.
Three minutes before the whistle to end the first period, Ki, again, let fans know of his prowess.
Noticing the goalie near the 17-yard box, Ki aimed a looping shot from Korean territory, however the ball was slightly over the cross bar.
In the second half, Korean captain Park threatened the visitors with a fierce shot, only to see it hit the cross bar, allowing the African team its equalizer through a fast counterattack.
A through pass from Sulley Muntari reached Gyan positioned between Korean defenders near the box and he blasted the ball into the left corner of the net for a 1-1 tie in the 62nd minute
The home side, however, didn’t disappoint its fans.
In overtime, Ji linked to a cross from Nam Tae-hee but the former’s header was parried by Kingston only to fall to an onrushing Koo who tapped the ball in for the game winner.
![[INTERVIEW] North Korean defectors bear brunt of remittance scams](https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/thumbnailV2/75c261156ac7415fad92dc1d7c1b30cf.jpg/dims/resize/178/optimize)
![[INTERVIEW] Foreign-born entertainers seek to revolutionize local industry](https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/thumbnailV2/4a6b2bd3d23044d699dee3c5bb956863.jpg/dims/resize/178/optimize)
