Lee Geum-min bags a brace for Birmingham City in English Women's Championship

Korean forward Lee Geum-min scored her first and second goals of the season for Birmingham City in the club's win over Portsmouth in the Women's Championship on Sunday.

Brimingham City forward Lee Geum-min scores her first and second goals for her side in the club's 4-0 win over Portsmouth in the Women’s Championship on Sunday. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Korean forward Lee Geum-min scored her first and second goals for Birmingham City in the club’s 4-0 win over Portsmouth in the Women’s Championship on Sunday.

Playing as a substitute in the fixture at St. Andrew’s in Birmingham, England, where Libby Smith opened the scoring in the 20th minute, Lee scored a goal in the 53rd minute and added one more in the 67th minute to bring the score to 3-0, before Louise Quinn scored a fourth in stoppage time.

Fellow Korean player Cho So-hyun played the full 90 minutes for Birmingham, but failed to get on the scoresheet.

Sunday’s win puts Birmingham in second place in the 11-team table with two wins and one draw in the 2024-25 Women’s Championship campaign. The Women’s Championship is the second-highest division in English women’s football.

This season is Lee’s first with Birmingham, having joined the club from fellow English team Brighton earlier this month.

The 30-year-old began her football career with Seoul City in 2015 and moved to Gyeongju KHNP in 2018, before starting her overseas career in England by joining Manchester City in 2019.

But she saw little playing time with City, prompting her to transfer to Brighton on loan in 2020, making the move permanent the following year.

Lee has also been a regular pick for the Korean national team, amassing 90 caps with 27 goals.

Alongside national team regular picks Lee and Cho at Birmingham, fellow Korea teammate Choe Yu-ri also plays for the club, making it the team with the most Korean players anywhere in Europe.

On the men’s side, Birmingham are also home to midfielder Paik Seung-ho, and the Korean professional football community in the area also includes Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Hwang Hee-chan, who is just a short drive away in Wolverhampton.

Birmingham will be back in Women’s Championship action in an away match against Durham on Sept. 29.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]