K League stars return to club action after exhibition vs. Tottenham

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, July 14 (Yonhap) -- K League stars who tested their mettle against Tottenham Hotspur in a midweek exhibition match will return to club action Saturday, with a mini international break on the horizon.

Team K League, represented by two players each from 12 teams in the top-flight K League 1, took a 6-3 loss against Spurs at Seoul World Cup Stadium on Wednesday. Though the spotlight was deservedly on Tottenham's South Korean superstar Son Heung-min, who scored twice, K League players more than held their own in the wildly entertaining affair.

Cho Gue-sung of Gimcheon Sangmu FC headed in Team K League's first goal late in the first half, with Lars Veldwijk of Suwon FC and Jun Amano of Ulsan Hyundai FC also finding the back of the net.

Amano curled in a gorgeous free kick goal in the second half, and he and first-place Ulsan will look to extend their lead at the top against reeling Suwon Samsung Bluewings at 6 p.m. Saturday.

Ulsan hold a five-point lead over Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors at 44 points, with both clubs coming off a draw on the weekend. Suwon Samsung are in danger of relegation, sitting in 11th place among 12 teams while mired in an eight-match winless streak.

Veldwijk's goal was set up by Yang Hyun-jun of Gangwon FC with some great individual effort, and they will go head-to-head at 7 p.m. Saturday.

Though he did not score one for himself, Yang was one of the most noticeable players for Team K League. In one sequence, he danced his way past defenders Ryan Sessegnon and Eric Dier deep in the box, before rolling a shot just wide of the far post.

Cho will look to keep his scoring ways going against Incheon United at 6 p.m. Saturday. Cho and another Team K League member, Joo Min-kyu of Jeju United, are tied for second in the league with 12 goals. The leader in that category, Stefan Mugosa, left Incheon United earlier this month after netting 14 goals. The scoring race will now come down to Joo, going for his second straight title, and Cho, chasing his first.

Jeonbuk, trying to keep pressure on Ulsan, should have an easy match against last-place Seongnam FC at 6 p.m. Saturday.

After all 12 clubs play Saturday, they will be off until July 30. The league made some last-minute changes to fixtures to accommodate the national team's participation in the East Asian Football Federation E-1 Football Championship, which runs from July 19-27 in Japan.

All but one of 26 players on the national team are based in the K League.

jeeho@yna.co.kr
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