Oct 2, 2012

Another weekend in the Premiere League goes by and another loss by QPR.  Park Ji-Sung‘s QPR lost to a energetic West Ham United club 2-1.  The captain was never able to get into the match and looked visibly frustrated at the start of the second half. Mark Hughes elected to sub Park off at the 56th minute for Samba Diakite. The Malian international spent less than 20 minutes on the pitch before racking up 2 yellow cards and was promptly ejected, stalling QPR’s chance at equalizing.  One bright note out of an overall dismal  team performance was the injection Adel Taarabt brought to the team dynamics after getting subbed in for Shawn Wright Phillips. The Moroccan had immediate impact off the bench, netting an impressive goal from about 25 yards out.  That brought out a different QPR side that was able to press and get good chances, which deflated once Diakite picked up the 2nd yellow.  Their next opportunity to get their first win will be on Oct 6 at West Bromich Albion.

Kim Bo-Kyung plays at home this afternoon when Cardiff City clashes with Birmingham City in a midweek N-Power Championship smackdown.  He had a good 20 minutes outing last Saturday for the Bluebirds. Will he get his first start?  Only the Malky knows.  

Lee Chung-Yong and his Bolton side are at Reebok Stadium to face off against a decent Leeds United AND grumbling home fans not happy with the Wanderers performance of late.  They’ve got an uphill climb if they want promotion; they are currently in the unenviable position of being 18th in the N-Power Championship table.

On Monday, Swansea’s official website interviewed Ki Sung-Yeung following last saturday’s loss to Stoke in which he indicated a new personal mission: to turn around the losing streak Swansea has been on for that past 3 games.

“I think we are probably a little bit confused at the moment because we won the first two games and now we are starting to lose. It’s very important we don’t get used to losing.

But football always changes, and sometimes quickly.”

He’s fast becoming a fan favorite and stalwart for Swansea despite the losses, and boss Ladrup has entrusted Ki with starts for the last 4 Swans games.  For more on the interview entitled “Much more to come from Ki”, swing on by here.

>And last but not least, Wednesday’s football action will feature Champions League matches, but believe it or not, I’m actually more interested in some Asian Champions League clashes, particularly Al Hilal vs. Ulsan Hyundai [1:00 pm EST]. Regular Taeguk Warrior Lee Keun-Ho scored the only goal in the first leg of this knockout rounder 2 weeks ago, and now the scene has shifted to Prince Faisal Bin Fahd Stadium in the Saudi capital city of Riyadh. Should be a tense affair, but Ulsan Hyundai is now the last great hope for a K-League team to win the Asian Champions League this year. The game is being broadcast by One World Sports

Tavern out – going on a field trip to see the Animal Collective, happening tonight at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia Maryland (and with Micachu and the Shapes opening — yeeee! ). If you’re anywhere near the Washington DC area tonight- you ought to go – a hot time in Columbia Town Square tonight.  Twitter at taeguk_warrior if you happen to be going there tonight and maybe we’ll chat awhile before the show starts.