Yes indeed, busy weekend capped off on Sunday with Suk Hyun-Jun scoring the equalizer for Maritimo in a Portuguese Liga match with FC Porto. Teammate Nuno Miguel Pereria de Sousa Briguel’s excellent cross found Suk near the top of the box, but Suk’s first touch got away from him. Somehow Suk capitalized to finish, take a look:
That goal came in the 38th minute and Suk would miss a chance to score the game winner later. Still, the goal gives Maritimo a point, and the club sits a point just below Estoril for the 6th and last qualifying Europa League spot. This is Suk’s 2nd goal since joining Maritimo in January.
A late but never too late weekend roundup begins:
FRIDAY March 15
Park Chu-Young enters the fray for Celta Vigo in the 69th minute for Bermejo. By that time, Celta was already down 2-0 to Deportivo; Celta seems destined to lose with Iago Aspas’ early dismissal with a red card for an alleged head butt against Carlos Marchena in the 29th minute. That left Celta scrambling much of the match. Deportivo would widen the lead with a breakaway in the 78th minute. Two minutes later, Michael Krohn-Delhi would come in the match and immediately sent a pinpoint lazer pass across goal to Park Chu-Young. Take a look at the result:
It would be Park Chu-Young’s 3rd league goal and 4th overall for Celta Vigo. It wasn’t enough to offset the earlier Deportivo goals, and Celta would go down 3-1. With strong chances to score in only 10 minutes against Real Madrid last weekend, Park is likely to be included in Celta’s starting XI against Barcelona on March 30th, their next match after the FIFA international break. That and Aspas will be suspended. Celta may be in the relegation zone, but are only 2 points from safety. Might be a tight finish, but the prediction at the beginning of the year, that Park may be able to help Celta out of relegation, may prove prophetic.
SATURDAY March 16
Koo Ja Cheol and Ji Dong-Won both started for Augsburg. So did Son Heung-Min for Hamburg. A ‘quasi’ Korean derby on German soil ensued and Augsburg rode out an ugly 0-1 win, with Callsen-Bracker heading in a Tobias Werner free kick early in the game. Son had several tantalizingly close chances to score, but Augsburg keeper Amsif denied him each time. The refs came to Amsif’s rescue in the 30th minute, disallowing Son’s goal in a controversial offisides call. In all, Son would register 7 shots, to no avail. Ji and Koo both had quiet games, no shots between the two as Augsburg was never able to come up with an organized offense after the first and only goal of the match. Koo was substituted in the 60th minute, his passing game was off that day. Hamburg fortunately didn’t suffer in the table tremendously, dropped to 8th, but still only a mere point away from a very competitive race for the 4th and last Champions League qualifying spot. Augsburg went a long ways in digging out of the relegation zone, now only 5 points from safety.
[side note: Bundesliga giant Bayern Munich’s director Franz Beckenbauer has been effusive in his praise for Son Heung-Min. Beckenbauer speaking to the press recently: “He’s a super player…I really like the way he plays, fast and dynamic.” According to the Express UK, speculation abounds in what could be a race to secure Son Hueng-Min’s talents, with Spurs and Arsenal allegedly leading the race. With incoming Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola taking a look at Son, many analysts are interpreting this as Bayern Munich’s overture for the South Korean. Son’s contract is ending in 2014.
Gruether Furth F Park Jung-Bin, not in 18 man roster, 2-2 draw with Werder Bremen.
QPR, M Park Ji-Sung, 90 minutes, Park registered an assist in their 2nd goal against Aston Villa, but defensive errors led to a costly 3-2 loss for QPR. QPR are now 5 points from safety. Yun Suk-Young not in the 18 man roster.
Bolton M Lee Chung-Yong, 90 minutes in 0-1 loss at Ipswich Town. Bolton had been on a tear, a 5 game winning streak and a 8 game unbeaten streak coming to an end. Despite the loss, Bolton is not far from contending for a playoff promotion spot.
Cardiff M Kim Bo-Kyung, in 18 man roster, did not play in 0-2 win at Sheffield Wednesday. Cardiff can breath a bit easier with 7 points on the top of the Championship table. Promotion seems very likely.
Swansea M Ki Sung-Yeung, 66 minutes in a 0-2 loss to Arsenal (both goals after Ki left the match). For a more detailed report, see yesterday’s post by Jae Chee. [Side note: Swansea is scheduling a pre-season trip to Asia next summer, including a 4 day trip in South Korea in July].
SUNDAY March 17th
FC Basel D Park Joo-Ho, 90 minutes in 1-0 win against FC Thun
Maritimo F Suk Hyun-Jun, 90 minutes and goal scored in 1-0 win against FC Porto
—on the run, for K-League Classic and K League Challenge roundup -check out K-Talk. They’ve got the skinny on K League Classic round 3.
FIFA international break: ON. I’m on the go, so I may have missed some Koreans playing in Europe. If so, I know all you good Tavern goers will let me know! Drop by again soon, we’ll have some interesting reads soon, including a profile on another Korean youth player in Barcelona’s La Masia academy, charting Ki Sung-Yeung’s growth this season, plus kabitz on the upcoming World Cup Qualifier against Qatar next Tuesday. Peace!
This goal was a big joy for me, not only because I’m a big fan of korean football but also because Porto is the principal opponent of Benfica (My team) 🙂
It all works out!
Great now is Park Chu Young’s time to shine. 4 match ban for Aspas, Hopefully PArk starts during those matches, and the big match against Barca.
mos def! Aspas 4 match ban should give Park room to get some time and make impact.