FRANCE 98 – Match Summary n°9
Ha Seok Jun went from hero to villian in the space of two minutes as South Korea crashed 3-1 to Mexico in their World Cup Group E opener here on Saturday. In the 28th minute his dipping free-kick from just outside the area was deflected by Duilio Davino in the middle of the wall. Mexican keeper Jorge Campos was caught going the wrong way and Korea were one up.
Two minutes later Ha went clattering into Jesus Ramirez, taking his legs from under him. Austrian referee Gunter Benko went straight for the red card and a disconsolate Ha made the long lonely march to the changing room. South Korea were down to 10 men as they fought to win their first ever match in a World Cup finals. Mexico were unable to use their extra man to find a way past Kim in the opening 45 minutes but five minutes after the restart the Korean defence finally cracked.
They failed to clear a Jesus Ramirez corner, the ball fell at the feet of Ricardo Pelaez, brought on at half-time, and the 34-year-old made no mistake as he crashed the ball into the roof of the net. But the courageous Korean refused to go under and it was not until the 75th minute that Mexico finally went ahead when another Ramirez cross found Luis Hernandez on the far post, and he hit it home from two metres.
The 29-year-old Hernandez scored again with only six minutes left on the clock and it was the goal of the match. Fed in the area with an inch perfect pass by Cuauhtemoc Blanco, Hernandez controlled, turned and let rip, giving Kim no chance.
The defeat was a bitter blow for South Korea who are still looking for their first win in a World Cup finals. So far they have gone 12 matches without a victory. Mexico were themselves lucky to finish the half with 11 players. Captain Jaime Ordiales took a kick at a Korean player lying on the pitch right in front of the referee but Benko somehow failed to see it.