S. Korea, Japan Move On
South Korea edged China, 1-0, and Japan beat Hong Kong, 1-0, in front of 45,145 at Saitama, Japan, on Sunday as both countries advanced to the final of the inaugural East Asian Championship.
The Koreans won on a goal by veteran Yoo Sang-Chul in injury time at the end of the first half, but saw Lee Eul-Yong red-carded by Malaysian referee Halim Abdul-Hamid in the 60th minute for a foul that sparked a 22-man brawl.
Lee will sit out the tournament final against Japan at Yokohama on Wednesday.
The Japanese game-winner was scored on a penalty kick by Brazilian-born Alessandro Santos, better known as Alex, in the 37th minute after he had been fouled in the penalty area in another ill-tempered match.
Mexican Playoffs
Former champion Toluca swept into the Mexican league playoff semifinals Sunday with a 2-0 victory over the Pumas of UNAM in front of 60,000 fans in Mexico City. Salvador Carmona and Israel Lopez scored the decisive goals as UNAM, coached by Hugo Sanchez, flopped at its own stadium.
Also reaching the semifinals were Pachuca, which lost, 2-1, at home to Necaxa but went through, 4-3 on aggregate, over the two games; Atlante, which was tied, 2-2, at home by Santos Laguna but advanced, 5-3 on aggregate; and UNL, which was beaten, 2-1, at home by Cruz Azul and tied, 2-2 on aggregate, but reached the semifinals based on its better regular-season record.
Hunger Strike
Eighteen players for Real Patepluma, which finished in last place in the Honduran league, are staging a hunger strike outside the league headquarters, claiming they have not been paid for four months and are owed $42,325.
“We have offered to give the players $11,286, part of the money we received from the sale of a car, but they haven’t accepted,” Mario Prieto, the league’s president, told reporters in San Pedro Sula.
Quick Passes
Dan Petrescu, who played 97 matches for Romania’s national team, will be named coach of Rapid Bucharest, the club confirmed.... Midfielder Zlatko Zahovic, who scored 34 goals in 77 games for Slovenia and represented his country in the 2000 European Championship and the 2002 World Cup, announced his retirement from the national team. Zahovic, 32, will continue playing for Benfica in the Portuguese league.... Goals by Stanton Fredericks and Patrick Mayo gave the Kaizer Chiefs a 2-0 win over the Silver Stars in the South African League Cup final in front of 70,000 in Johannesburg.... Ara Akopyan, a 23-year-old striker who scored a record 45 goals in 24 matches to help Banants Yerevan finish second in the Armenian league, was named Armenia’s player of the year.... Scottish league leader Celtic, runner-up in last season’s UEFA Cup, will return to North America next summer for two games in the Boston area and in Toronto between July 25 and Aug. 1, Coach Martin O’Neill said. Celtic played Manchester United and Boca Juniors in the U.S. this year during the Champions World Series.
Times wire services contributed to this report.
