I was delighted to see an opportunity for an unusual fixture when I discovered that South Korea were playing a midweek afternoon friendly at Craven Cottage against Serbia during a week off work.
I took the train from Waterloo to Putney and wandered down the high street and across the Thames towards the glowing floodlights to my left. There were a few Korean fans heading the same way but it wasn't until I arrived at the ground that I got the normal match day buzz with supporters from both countries milling around and taking photographs.
I've been to Craven Cottage a few times before, including a boisterous afternoon with some Leicester fans at what was the last game at the Cottage back in 2002 before refurbishment. The terraced area we stood in along the side has now been replaced by an all seater stand while the old Putney End Terrace has been replaced by another huge all seater stand. I was surprised to find that I was really close to the touchline and the view wasn't obscured by any posts.
Both of these teams have qualified for next summer's World Cup Finals in South Africa so it was a good opportunity to see what kind of opposition England could be facing. I arrived in plenty of time and was able to watch both teams warming up in front of the TV Cameras - the game was kicking off in the afternoon so it could be shown live on Korean television. Gradually the ground filled up and the atmosphere was terrific with no segregation and both sets of supporters cheering on their team. The Serbian chants were similar to English support but when the Korean team came out it was more like a Beatles concert with high pitched squeals and orange inflatable clackers the order of the day.
Serbia started well and the Korean keeper had to make two early saves - one from a Danko Lazovic freekick and one from the resulting corner when Vidic put a header towards goal. Serbia then took the lead in the 7th minute from a deep cross from the left into the penalty area. Tall striker Zigic made a great run across his marker and got his foot onto tbe ball just ahead of the Korean defender, placing the ball to the right of the keeper and into the net.
Korea had a good chance five minutes later which was pushed over the bar. They began to settle and play some good passing football with a great sense of determination. When they lost the ball they harried the Serbian players and won it back to set up attacks on a couple of occasions. The experience of Vidic and the impressive Subotic kept them at bay and they weren't able to test the keeper further by creating any clear cut chances.
Serbia had a good effort in the 31st minute from a long cross from the left by Lukovic. It looked like the ball was meant to be aimed at the head of Zigic but it was mishit and almost ended up going over the Korean keeper and in. The ball looped down and came off the top of the crossbar before bouncing out for a goal kick. The Serbians liked to build the ball from the back and were content to pass it around the back four from side to side before moving it forward. This approach was risky as the Korean team liked to put them under pressure and were able to repossess the ball on a couple of occasions. Just before half time the Koreans managed to get a shot on target but the Serbian keeper made a good save.
The second half was similar fare although there was an interuption after 52 minutes when it all became a bit too exciting for one young Serbian supporter who ran onto the pitch with his scarf and went up to several of his heros to give them a hug before being escorted from the pitch by security. Once he had departed the Koreans had a good shot just wide. From the noise being made after that I fully expected my eardrums to explode if Korea scored and this almost happened in the 63rd minute when the ball ended up in the back of the net but was disallowed for offside. The teenage girls in front of us hit their chairs with such force in frustration that their clackers burst!
I enjoyed the second half more as both teams just went for counter attacking football and the ball moved quickly from end to end. South Korea had several freekicks on target that were saved and almost managed an equaliser late on when Lee Chung-yong rounded Stojkovic but couldn’t control the ball and stumbled before hitting a shot into the mass of white shirts that had come back to defend. I was impressed with Krasic who made some great runs down the wing and almost finished the game with a goal from a low shot that the Korean keeper did well to save.
In the absence of a programme (although there were some scarfs for £5) the line ups were:
South Korea -
Kim Young Kwang
Oh Beom Seok
Lee Jung Soo
Cho Yong Hyung
Lee Young Pyo
Kim Nam Il
Cho Won Hee
Lee Chung Yong
Park Ji Sung
Yeom Ki Hun
Seol Ki Hyun
Subs -
35' Kim Do Heon (for Oh Beom Seok)
46' Cha Du Ri (for Cho Won Hee )
46' Lee Keun Ho (for Yeom Ki Hun )
60' Lee Dong Gook (for Seol Ki Hyun)
68' Kang Min Soo (for Park Ji Sung)
81' Kim Hyung Il (for Kim Do Heon )
Serbia -
Vladimir Stojković
Branislav Ivanović
Aleksandar Luković
Neven Subotić
Nemanja Vidić
Zdravko Kuzmanović
Nenad Milijaš
Miloš Krasić
Milan Jovanović
Danko Lazović
Nikola Žigić
Subs -
46' Zoran Tošić (for Lazović)
60' Gojko Kačar (for Milijaš)
68' Miloš Ninković (for Jovanović)
72' Aleksandar Kolarov (for Vidić)
82' Radosav Petrović (for Kuzmanović)
88' Jagoš Vuković (for Luković)
A very enjoyable afternoon of football!
No comments:
Post a Comment