Goals Against Croatia Ring in New Year

Kim Dong-jin (24, FC Seoul) and Lee Chun-su (25, Ulsan) each greeted the New Year with a goal in the Korea-Croatia match of the Carlsberg Cup Four Nations Tournament held at Hong Kong Stadium yesterday.

Left wingback Kim opened the game with a 30m long-range goal, while right wing Lee wedged another score through Croatia’s defense, leading Korea to a 2-0 victory.

Kim’s remarkable long-range goal came off his left foot from left center of midfield 35 minutes into the first half on a pass by Baek Ji-hun from the half line. Kim’s shot flew into the lower right corner of the net, stunning the Croatian defense. It was Kim’s second-ever international A-matche goal. Kim scored off of a similar long, left-footed shot for his first A-match goal against Germany in December 2004.

To top it all off, this one came on his 24th birthday.

Four minutes into the second half, Lee Chun-su added a goal of his own. Lee Dong-gook trapped a goal kick from goalie Lee Woon-jae and nudged the ball to the side. Lee Chun-su penetrated through open space on the right and shot a diagonal grounder into the left corner of the net.

The last goal Lee scored in an international match was in the World Cup preliminaries in 2004. His A-match tally is 6 goals in 54 games.

“I took a shot when I saw there was nobody around to pass the ball to. I wasn’t sure if the ball would go in because the distance was too long,” Kim said. “I will continue to focus on my role as a defender, and participate in attacks when needed.”

Lee Chun-su also expressed confidence, saying, “I am glad to have scored my first goal after the new manager came on board. The first one is the hardest to get. Things will get only better from here.” They looked bright in their training session yesterday, too.

Won-Hong Lee bluesky@donga.com