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 South Korea snuff out Togo's dream
FRANKFURT, Germany -- Ten-man Togo saw their hopes of a fairytale victory on their World Cup debut extinguished by 2002 semifinalists South Korea who grabbed a 2-1 win in their Group G opener in Frankfurt 2-1 on Tuesday. Mohammed Kader had put the African minnows ahead with a superb 31st minute strike, but Jean-Paul Abalo was sent off and from the resulting free kick Lee Chung-soo equalized. Substitute Ahn Jung-hwan struck South Korea's 72nd minute winner. Ahn, a hero of his side's surprise run to the last four on home soil, struck an unstoppable right foot shot to claim three points for his side. "I am very happy for the first win," said Ahn, who was named man-of-the-match. "In the first half we were a little bit shaky but in the second half we got things together much better." Ahn paid tribute to Dutch coach Dick Advocaat's decision to bring him on. "Mr Advocaat's tactics were good," he said. Soap operaBy contrast, Togo's preparations for their first World Cup had bordered on a soap opera, with globetrotting coach Otto Pfister quitting on Friday over a squad pay row before making a U-turn on Monday. Confusion still reigned about who was coaching the African side until Pfister was confirmed to be in charge moments before kick off. The sense of farce continued inside the stadium when the Korean anthem was played twice before Togo's was finally played. The Togo contingent must have feared the worst, but their team made an inspired start. Mohamed Kader Coubadja shot over from a narrow angle after 11 minutes and the French-based forward caused panic in the Korean defense every time he got the ball. It was no surprise when he broke the deadlock with 14 minutes left in the half. Taking a pass neatly on his thigh, he sped into the right side of the penalty area, steadied himself, then fired a low shot into the corner of the net. Togo almost went further in front four minutes before halftime when Yao Senaya's curling free kick was tipped over the bar by Lee Woon-jae. Inspired substitutionKorea coach Dick Advocaat sent on forward Ahn at the start of the second half, although it was Togo who continued to impress as Kader forced another fine save from Lee. The match swung in South Korea's favor within the space of two minutes, though. In the 53rd minute Togo skipper Abalo was dismissed for a second yellow card for pulling down Manchester United's Park Ji-sung on the edge of the area. From the resulting free kick Chung-soo curled a delightful free kick past Kossi Agassa. The goal sparked a wave of Korean pressure, with Park at last displaying the dazzling runs that made him so popular at Old Trafford last season. Togo gallantly went for the win despite being a man down, but they were sunk when Ahn picked up a loose ball and advanced to fire an unstoppable shot past Agassa which took a slight deflection. Togo's defeat means all four African debutantes at the World Cup have lost their opening matches. 
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