Lee Kang-in double lifts Korea to 3-1 win over Bahrain at Asian Cup

Korea beat Bahrain 3-1 in the first game of the Asian Cup on Saturday, capitalizing on a few moments of brilliance in a concerningly tepid performance to take the all-important three points.

From left: Cho Gue-sung, Lee Kang-in and Hwang In-beom celebrate during an Asian Cup Group E game against Bahrain at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Qatar on Monday. [YONHAP]

Korea beat Bahrain 3-1 in the first game of the Asian Cup on Saturday, capitalizing on a few moments of brilliance in a concerningly tepid performance to take the all-important three points.

The Taeguk Warriors appeared to struggle from the start in what on paper should have been a very one-sided affair, proving completely unable to adapt to Bahrain’s constant efforts to slow down the game and referee Ma Ning’s trigger-happy approach to bookings.

Playing without Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Hwang Hee-chan due to injury, Korea started with Cho Gue-sung out in front and Park Yong-woo joining familiar faces Son Heung-min, Lee Kang-in, Lee Jae-sung and Hwang In-beom in midfield.

It was a painfully slow start for the Taeguk Warriors, any attempt at a formation falling apart in the face of Bahrain’s stubborn defense and some hefty man-marking on Son and Lee Kang-in.

But Korea did eventually break through, Red Star Belgrade’s Hwang In-beom putting the Taeguk Warriors on the scoreboard in the 37th minute, assisted with a long ball across the box from Mainz’s Lee Jae-sung. The oft-overlooked pair remained as solid as ever in the middle of Korea’s defense, standing out again in a game where some of the more lauded players struggled to produce.

One person who did not struggle was Paris Saint-Germain’s Lee Kang-in. The young midfielder proved a force to be reckoned with at the top of the second half, hammering in two goals in the space of 12 minutes.

Lee’s first came five minutes after Bahrain had tied things up to put the score at 1-1. Receiving the ball a few yards outside the box, Lee took one touch to position himself and then fired a low shot between two defenders and into the bottom left corner of the net to make it 2-1.

Lee returned 12 minutes later, hitting almost the exact same spot — this time from the left of the box — to take the score to 3-1.

But after that flurry, the wheels came off again. Korea returned to muddling around the midfield for the remainder of the game, failing to get anything meaningful close to the goal and fluffing the few chances they did have.

Discipline was also a serious concern. Korea had gained two yellow cards within the first 13 minutes and would go on to receive five throughout the game, with Bahrain taking just two.

Some of the blame for that could arguably be laid at the feet of referee Ma, who perhaps appeared to overlook a few more of Bahrain’s offenses, but it remains true that the Bahrain players found it concerningly easy to draw Korea into fouls.

Captain Son was another cause for concern. Largely invisible for most of the first half, Son started to take a bigger role in the game in the second, only to miss direct attempts on goal including one where he only had the keeper to beat.

Visibly frustrated with his own performance, Son then landed himself a yellow card in the dying frames of the game for a very obvious dive in the box in an attempt to win a last-gasp penalty.

More than any one player, though, the biggest issue was a lack of coherence and flexibility in the entire lineup.

Today’s Taeguk Warriors ought to be the strongest team that Korea has ever fielded, but they clearly lack experience playing together and are yet to click as a squad. For a team like Bahrain, ranked at No. 86 to Korea’s 23, the approach was obvious and well-executed — disrupt any play in any way possible until you’re left with 11 men on a field, not a single cohesive unit.

That’s a trap that Korea falls into easily, and Jurgen Klinsmann will have to work hard this week to ensure the weakness cannot be exploited again.

Still, the score is the only thing that matters, and Korea leave Monday’s clash with three points to top Group E as of press time, with Lee Kang-in joining Japan’s Takumi Minamino and Qatar’s Akram Afif at the top of the top scorer board.

Korea will be back in action Saturday as they take on Jordan in their second Group E game of the Asian Cup, also broadcast at 8:30 p.m. in Korea.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]