Chon Buri FC frozen out by Pohang in South Korea
Thailand Premier League runners-up Chon Buri FC missed out on a spot in the AFC Champions League after suffering a 2-0 defeat at the hands of K-League outfit Pohang Steelers in a qualifying play-off in Pohang, South Korea, yesterday.
Chon Buri were unable to make much of their chances, having earned a crack at a place in the lucrative group stage of Asia’s elite club competition after BuriRam PEA completed a historic treble last season including the FA Cup that gave the champions a play-off spot.
The Thais, instead, had to settle for a berth in the continent’s second-tier competition, the AFC Cup, where they face Hong Kong’s Citizen, Home United of Singapore and Burma’s Yangon United in Group G.
Despite failing to reach the competition proper, the Thai side gave a good account of themselves against the home team in a game played in freezing temperatures at Pohang Steelyard stadium.
The first real chance of the match fell to Chon Buri midfielder Terdsak Jaiman, who picked up a clever pass from Kazuto Kushida in front of the box but his effort went agonisingly wide. However, the veteran came much closer to opening the scoring in the 15th minute when he dispatched a free kick just inches wide of the far post.
The hosts succeeded where Terdsak had failed, taking the lead through Hwang Jin-sung’s powerfully-struck free kick, which went past Thai keeper Sinthaweechai Hathairattanakool’s outstretched right hand just before the half hour mark.
After the interval, Sinthaweechai kept his side in the game when he managed to block a shot from Park Sung-ho in a one-on-one situation. But, there was nothing the Thai goalie could do in the 69th minute when Park Sung-ho made amends by heading home a Shin Hyung-min cross at the far post.
Despite the failure of his wards to enter the premier competition after their debut in 2008, Chon Buri coach Withaya Laohakul was satisfied with their performance and quickly turned his focus to steering Chon Buri to success in the AFC Cup.
“Even though we lost 2-0, I’m happy with the number of chances we created in the game. Had we converted some of those, we could have had a different outcome. Our defence performed very well, though they made mistakes only on two occasions.
“Our aim is now to win the AFC Cup only. My team is much stronger than last year when we made it through the semi-finals of the event,” Withaya said.
Ballack out?
Bayer Leverkusen owner Wolfgang Holzhaeuser has said the club is willing to discuss whether the former Germany captain Michael Ballack can leave before the end of his current contract.
“His contract runs until June 30 but if he wants to leave before then, we can certainly talk about it,” Holzhaeuser was quoted as saying by the German magazine Focus.
Holzhaeuser, however, ruled out the idea of a farewell match because of Ballack’s intention to pursue his career elsewhere.
Ballack recently expressed his desire to play at Leverkusen until the end of his contact out of loyalty to the club’s fans.
Rumours have been circulating for several weeks about a possible transfer to the United States, where the New York Red Bulls are said to be interested.
The former Chelsea player has been relegated to the substitutes’ bench and sat out the German side’s 3-1 Champions League defeat by Barcelona on Tuesday with a calf injury that will keep him on the sidelines for two more weeks.
