S. Korea defeats Oman 1-0 to open AFC Asian Cup

CANBERRA (Yonhap) – South Korea defeated Oman 1-0 to open its AFC Asian Cup campaign in Australia on Saturday, an encouraging start to its quest to end a half-century title drought at the continent's largest football tournament.

Forward Cho Young-cheol scored in the dying moments of the first half on a rainy day at Canberra Stadium, and South Korea held on over the final 45 minutes for the ever-important first victory in Group A.

South Korea is seeking to win its first Asian Cup title since 1960. The next match for South Korea will be against Kuwait on Tuesday, back at Canberra Stadium, followed by the group finale against Australia next Saturday in Brisbane.

South Korea had some early chances while Oman had a cagey start, trying to outnumber the South Korean attackers in its own zone.

Midfielder Koo Ja-cheol tested Oman goalkeeper Ali Al-Habsi in the fifth minute, with his low shot from the left edge of the box forcing Al-Habsi to make a diving save to his right.

In the next minute, captain Ki Sung-yueng threaded a perfect pass to Son Heung-min, whose floating shot from point-blank range went off the top of the crossbar.

South Korea lost its starting right fullback Kim Chang-soo in the 18th minute to a leg injury. Cha Du-ri, who replaced Kim, took a hard shot from the right edge of the box in the 23rd but found only the side netting.

After a dull stretch, Eid Al-Farsi had the first opportunity for Oman in the 40th, as his free kick from just outside the box curled away from the net.

With South Korea putting pressure again, Al-Habsi had to punch out a clearing attempt by his own defender, Abdul Salam Al-Mukhaini, to keep the match deadlocked in the 43rd.

Oman's hopes for a scoreless first half were dashed only minutes later. Taking a feed from Ki in midfield, Koo sped toward the net and took a bouncing shot that Al-Habsi failed to control.

Cho beat defender Mohammed Al-Musalami to the rebound and scored his first international goal as he fell to the ground.

South Korea picked up right where it left off to start the second half. Defensive back Kim Jin-su jumped in on offense to launch a hard shot just above the bar in the 46th minute. Ten minutes later, Koo nearly doubled the lead for South Korea, as his header was barely punched out of play by Al-Habsi.

South Korea remained in control of the match though it failed to generate dangerous chances. Oman applied more pressure late in the second half, but its offensive build-ups were frequently foiled by South Korean defenders.

Ahmad Al-Hosni came within inches of tying the match in injury time, as his header off a corner went off the hands of goalkeeper Kim Jin-hyeon and then the crossbar.

The victory came at a cost for South Korea, which lost defender Kim Chang-soo in the first half and then midfielder Lee Chung-yong in the second half, both to leg injuries.

The match was held in a constant drizzle with the temperature around 22 degrees Celsius (71.6 Fahrenheit) at kickoff.