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Seeking No. 4 Saudis down S. Korea, move to Asia Cup final
BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) -- Forward Talal al-Mashal scored twice inside four minutes late in the game to take defending champion Saudi Arabia to the Asian Cup final with a 2-1 victory over South Korea on Thursday. Al-Mashal scored his first with a header in the 77th minute, connecting from a cross hoisted over by Ahmed Dukhi, who set up al-Mashal for his second goal four minutes later. "I believe we played 80 percent of our capability tonight," said Saudi coach Nasser al-Johar. "I knew that we had to impose our own rhythm because of their speed and we did that successfully." The Saudis could have made it 3-0 in the 87th minute when Sami al-Jaber crossed a free kick into the penalty area that the South Korean defense failed to clear. Midfielder Abdullah al-Wakad headed toward the net, forcing goalkeeper Lee Woon-jae to save with difficulty. Saleh al-Saqri came close between al-Mashal's goals, driving a ferocious shot that came off the crossbar. The Soth Koreans never gave up and were able to pull one back in injury time when Lee Dong-gook headed in after a fumble by Saudi goalkeeper Mohammed al-Daeyea. It was Lee's fifth goal of the tournament and although it didn't matter at the end it showed the South Koreans' fighting spirit. "I want to apologize to every South Korean citizen for tonight's loss," said South Korean coach Huh Jung-Moo. "The Saudis got the better of us in body contact and were more aggressive and showed better control skills." South Korea wanted to win the Asian Cup to boost its confidence ahead of the 2002 World Cup it will jointly host with Japan. It last won the Cup 40 years ago. The win gives Saudi Arabia a shot at lifting the Asian Cup for an unprecedented fourth time. It will play either China or Japan in Sunday's final, while South Korea will battle for third place. The two sides played a largely uninspiring first half with a few close chances. The Saudis came close in the 21st minute when al-Wakad headed from close a corner taken by Nawaf al-Temyat. The header had South Korean goalkeeper Lee Woon-jae in trouble when he saved but, for a moment, did not have the ball secure in his hands. Two minutes earlier, Sim Jae-won unleashed a long-range drive from way out, which forced Saudi keeper al-Daeyea to stretch for a save that gave the South Koreans a corner. In the 35th minutes, forward Lee Dong-gook, whose 100th minute golden goal on Monday gave South Korea its semifinal berth at the expense of Iran, attempted to lob al-Daeyea from outside the box. The Saudi, voted Asia's best goalkeeper in 1999, pulled off a good save to punch off the ball for a South Korean corner. Saudi Arabia's star midfielder Sami al-Jaber, who earns his money playing for English first division side Wolverhampton, showed his skills and ball control during the first half but his finishing left Lee Woon-jae making effortless saves. Saudi Arabia's starting lineup was missing through injury several players who began Tuesday's bruising quarterfinal match against Kuwait, which was decided by a 108th minute olden goal. Among those missing were forward Mohammed al-Shalhoub, who scored three goals in the Saudis' 5-0 win over Uzbekistan in their last group match, and key defender Omar al-Ghamdi. Al-Shalhoub came in as a substitute but did not last until the end. Lineups: Saudi Arabia - Mohammed al-Daeyea, Mohammed al-Khilaiwi, Mohammed Nour, Ahmed Doukhi, Ahmed Khalil, Sami al-Jaber (Hamzah Idris, 90), Saleh al-Saqri, Abdullah al-Wakad, Nawaf al-Temyat, Abdullah Jumaan (Mohammed al-Shalhoub 40, Fouzi al-Shehri, 85), Talal al-Meshal. South Korea: Lee Woon-jae, Hong Myung-bo (Seol Ki-hyeon, 78) , Sim Jaoe-won, Kim Tae-young, Kim Sang-sik, Lee Young-pyo, Yoo Sang-chul, Yoon Jong-hwan (Noh Jung-yoon, 53), Choi Sung-yong, Park Ji-sung (Ha Seok-ju, 42), Lee Dong-gook.
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