(LEAD) S. Korea blow 2-goal lead in draw vs. Colombia in Klinsmann's coaching debut

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By Yoo Jee-ho

ULSAN, March 24 (Yonhap) -- South Korea wasted a two-goal lead to get held to a 2-2 draw by Colombia in Jurgen Klinsmann's head coaching debut here Friday.

Captain Son Heung-min scored two goals in a dominant first half, only to see Colombia respond with two early in the second half before a sellout crowd of some 36,000 at Munsu Football Stadium in the southeastern city of Ulsan.

South Korea, world No. 25, now have four wins, three draws and one loss against 17th-ranked Colombia.

"This game was very, very good. We gave two goals away right after halftime, unfortunately. Maybe concentration was not there," Klinsmann said. "The rest of the 84 minutes was a very good game. We keep learning, and we keep trying things out."

Klinsmann's Colombia counterpart, Nestor Lorenzo, said he was happy with the way his team responded to the early deficit.

"I told the guys to concentrate right out of the gate in the second half, and that led to some positive results," the Argentine tactician said. "I am also glad I had a chance to give several young players a chance to play."

Klinsmann brought back most of the players who competed at last year's FIFA World Cup under his predecessor, Paulo Bento. And Klinsmann's first starting lineup featured many of the usual suspects. Kim Seung-gyu, long unchallenged as the first-choice goalkeeper, got another start in goal. The backline featured Napoli stalwart Kim Min-jae in the middle, alongside veteran Kim Young-gwon. They were flanked by Kim Jin-su on the left and Kim Tae-hwan on the right.

Jung Woo-young started as the defensive midfielder, with Hwang In-beom, who blossomed into a reliable midfielder under Bento, occupying his familiar place in the middle, too.

Son was one of the three attacking midfielders, alongside Lee Jae-sung and Jeong Woo-yeong. Cho Gue-sung, who rose to stardom at the World Cup, got the start as the striker.

Fittingly enough, it was Son who scored South Korea's first goal 10 minutes into the Klinsmann era.

The Tottenham Hotspur star capitalized on a careless play by Colombian goalkeeper Camilo Vargas, who inexplicably vacated the goal after passing the ball to defender Johan Mojica standing to his left.

Mojica's clearing attempt ended at Son's feet, and Son cut to the center of the box before calmly curling the ball into the gaping net.

Colombia's first serious opportunity came about nine minutes later, when Jorge Carrascal snuck behind the defense to cross for Rafael Santos Borre, whose header sailed just over the crossbar.

Son nearly doubled down with a dangerous-looking free kick from outside the box in the 27th minute.

South Korea thought they had drawn a penalty when Son was tripped up by defender Carlos Cuesta. Upon video review, however, the foul was confirmed to have been committed just outside the box.

Lee Ki-je, who subbed in for injured left back Kim Jin-su, tested Vargas with a sharp, left-footed free kick.

Son wouldn't be denied another chance at his second goal, just before the end of the first half. Taking a free kick from outside the center of the box, Son beat Vargas to the bottom-left corner with a right-footed shot.

Son has now scored in three consecutive matches against Colombia, having also found the back of the net in November 2017 and March 2019.

James Rodriguez cut the Colombian deficit in half just one minute into the second half, catching the Korean defenders napping to convert a deft feed from Diego Valoyes.

Colombia drew even just about three minutes later, while giving South Korea a taste of their own medicine.

After forcing a turnover in midfield, Daniel Munoz sprinted down the right wing and crossed for Jorge Carrascal, who made no mistake with a right-footed shot to beat Kim Seung-gyu and make it a 2-2 contest.

Colombia nearly took the lead in the 69th minute, when Rafael Santos Borre's header struck the crossbar.

South Korea's one last opportunity came in the 88th minute, when substitute Oh Hyeon-gyu's low shot beat Vargas but was cleared out by a defender on its way to the open net.

The match was a tale of two halves. South Korea dominated the run of play in the first half, and it was Colombia's turn in the second half.

South Korea will next face Uruguay at 8 p.m. Tuesday at Seoul World Cup Stadium, a rematch of a Group H showdown at last year's FIFA World Cup in Qatar. That meeting ended in a goalless draw.

The start of Friday's match was delayed by about 20 minutes, because the Colombian team arrived about half an hour behind schedule and the players needed extra time to warm up.

Lorenzo, the Colombia coach, said the team bus was stuck in a Friday evening traffic jam in downtown Ulsan.

"For our training session yesterday, it took us about 30 to 40 minutes to get here. But today, it took about an hour and a half," Lorenzo said. "We didn't expect this, and it's not as if we could use another means of transportation at the moment."

Klinsmann said his players were not affected by the unexpected delay.

"It had no influence. We were just focusing on starting well," he said. "For whatever reason, they came late. It didn't change our focus. Sonny (Son Heung-min) told the players it doesn't matter, we'll start whenever they kick it off. From the first minute, we were really pushing forward, and we were rewarded with the first goal right away."

jeeho@yna.co.kr
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