South Korea 3-1 Bahrain: Lee's double sees off Bahrain

South Korea defeated Bahrain in their Asian Cup Group E opener 3-1 on Monday, thanks to Lee Kang-in's second-half double at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium.

With the score at 1-1 after goals from Hwang In-Beom and Bahrain's Abdullah Al-Hashsash, Paris St Germain's Lee unleashed two lethal strikes that had South Korean fans at the small 15,000-capacity arena ecstatic.

In a stop-start match with numerous fouls in the first half, South Korea had three players on yellow cards in the first half hour, including centre back Kim Min-Jae.

"We knew it wasn't going to be easy playing Bahrain, it turned out to be scrappy with a number of yellow cards today," South Korea coach Juergen Klinsmann told reporters.

"It was a tricky game and had a lot to do with the Chinese referee (Ning Ma) giving too many yellow cards early. That's why I took off Min-Jae, because if they made a slight foul he'd get sent off."

The Korean fans had had enough and began booing the referee whenever he kept his cards in his pocket for a foul by Bahrain, and the pressure paid off when Ali Madan was booked for a tough challenge.

South Korea then took the lead with a quick flowing move down the left wing, where the ball was crossed into the box and Hwang curled home past a crowd of Bahrain defenders, two of whom collided while tracking back.

But Bahrain came out fighting in the second half, and they were rewarded six minutes later when Al-Hashsash found space in the box and fired home into the bottom corner.

South Korea, however, was undeterred, and the east Asian side regained the lead five minutes later through Lee, who fired from outside the box and saw his superb effort curl into the net.

The PSG playmaker doubled his tally shortly after, receiving the ball from Hwang, escaping his marker with quick feet, and curling another shot past goalkeeper Ibrahim Lutfalla inside the far post.

Lee, whose second goal moved him to joint-top of the tournament scoring charts, said Korea's focus is on the prize, but they are taking it one game at a time.

"Everyone in the locker room and people back home are waiting for this trophy we haven't won in 64 years," he said.

"We're motivated but it's still too early to talk about winning the championship."

Son Heung-min had a late chance to score when he was released in the box, but his shot went wide, and the Tottenham Hotspur forward was also booked for simulation after attempting to win a penalty.

The Korea captain was also fouled heavily twice during the game and took his time getting back on his feet, admitting that Bahrain were not easy opponents.

"It was a tough game, as we expected. Bahrain obviously prepared really well and it was tough to break (them down), especially when we went up 1-0," Son said.

"Obviously we have to do better. But I think the most important thing is that we won the game."

SportsLigue