Asian champions Seongnam crush Al Wahda

The Korean champions turned out to be too strong for the local side despite the vocal support of more than 30,000 Wahdawi fans who had packed the stadium in anticipation of another victory following their 3-0 triumph in the opener against Hekari United from Papua New Guinea.

However, despite a brave effort which saw them produce an equaliser in the 27th minute through Brazilian Fernando Baiano, it will be Seongnam who go through the semifinals for a dream meeting with European champions Inter Milan on Wednesday.

Al Wahda will meet Concacaf champions Pachuca in the fifth place playoff on Tuesday while TP Mazembe will face former Fifa World Club Cup winners Sport Club Internacional from Brazil in the first semifinal on Tuesday.

Seongnam coach Shin Tae-yong said reports that Inter coach Rafael Benitez’s job hinged on winning the tournament was a sign there was trouble in the opposition camp.

“I’m sure there is a weakness because of the conflicts at home,” Shin told the post-match news conference.

“But Inter are the top team in the world. It won’t be an easy game but our players are here to do their very best. I’m sure they will give a great performance against Inter.”

Shin said he considered striker Samuel Eto’o as Inter’s dangerman but his team would try to make the most of their unique chance against the Champions League winners.

“There might never be another opportunity like this so we will make the most of it,” he said.

“There is a Korean proverb that says ‘better than dead’. We will challenge ourselves and show them we can be in same game as them.”

Al Wahda got off to a dreadful start when defender Hamdan Al Kamali cleared the ball onto the parth of Mauiricio Molina who banged it straight into the top left corner from 30 metres to give Seongnam the lead after just four minutes.

The Asian champions set the pace of the game from the start to run the Wahda defence ragged with some slick passes.

Radonci Dzenan from Montenegro came dangerously close in the opening minutes but Adel Al Hosani managed to avert the danger.

But Al Kamali came in his way when he was about to collect a ball which was headed in his direction but was turned around to virtually gift the visitors the opening goal.

Seongnam appeared to have a stranglehold on possession at the beginning while Al Wahda tried to take the aerial rout in desperation.

However, they were unable to come close until the 23rd minute when a lovely combined effort from Baiano and Ismael Matar earned them the first corner.

But Baiano brought the stadium alive in the 27th minute when he got the equaliser with a stunning header from a different move.

Having coming up against a wall of defenders, Baiano played it back to Eisa Ahmed who served a perfect cross from the right for the Brazilian to put into the bottom of the net to deafening applause.

However, the joy of the home fans was shortlived as Seongnam regained the lead 2-1 three minutes later when their Australian skipper Sasa Ognenovski rose above the defence to head home a corner from the left.

With the pace of the game rising a notch, Al Wahda also applied the pressure with Hugo attempting an angled left-footed shot from outside the area which was blocked by the Seongnam stopper Jung Sung Ryong.    

Al Wahda showed more purpose and composure after the interval but suffered a setback when skipper Haider Ali had to leave after tearing a leg muscle.

Moments before he was replaced by Mohammed Al Shehhi, a missed tackle by Basheer Saeed saw Seongnam’s Dzenan clear but Al Wahda stopper Al Hosani made a wonderful save in the 53rd minute.

As the battle intensified with Al Wahda stepping up their attacks, the South Koreans appeared to crack under the pressure and conceded two yellow cards, the second when Ognenovski brought down Matar.

Baiano’s free kick ricocheted over the wall of defenders while from the resultant corner Mahmoud Al Hammadi’s header was saved by the Seongnam keeper.

The UAE striker had minutes earlier come close as he produced a juggling act with the ball near the left post.

But the Korean champions put the result beyond doubt in the 71st when an unmarked Choi Sung Kuk crashed the ball into the top left corner of goal after the ball was released to him following a melee on the left flank.

Cho Dong Geon aded the icing to their victory by nodding home a perfectly weighted cross in the 81st minute from Molina who was substituted minutes later by Kim Jin Ryong. 

Al Wahda coach Josef Hickersberger was disappointed to lose by such a big margin.

“They were a better side. They deserved to win by this margin. We were down after four minutes because of a defensive error. That was a big blow to confidence of players. When we tried to comeback into game being two goals down, I chose to send in the most offensive formation because our defensive work as a team was not good enough. We have been punished by the result,” he said.

He noted that some of the players looked out of their depth against Seongnam.

“We know we have to work much harder. Only few players could challenge the Seongnam players and were able to play at the same pace or able to win one on one situations in defence and offense. Many could not cope with pace of game. That’s very sad because we hoped and expected much more from this game,” said the Austrian coach.

Hickersberger said Ali’s injury is severe and will be out for some weeks after tearing his muscle. “Unfortunately he will miss the next game. It must be our goal to do everything to get fifth place. I hope that they can put in a much better performance than today,” he said.