Lights go out on Asian Cup as Korea draw with Saudis

(Reuters)
Updated: 2007-07-12 08:28

JAKARTA, July 11 - South Korea and Saudi Arabia battled to a 1-1 draw in their opening Asian Cup Group D match on Wednesday after it came close to being abandoned due to a power failure.

With the score poised at 1-1 and five minutes left to play, the Gelora Bung Karno stadium was suddenly plunged into darkness, leaving bewildered players to wander aimlessly around the pitch.

"I would first of all like to apologise for the incident this evening with the power failure," AFC official Clare Kenny Tipton told a news conference.

"Essentially we were told it was due to a power cut in the city area."

The stadium, which is due to host the Asian Cup final on July 29, had a backup generator but it took a while to warm up, she added. The referee would have had the option of abandoning the game if the power had been out for 30 minutes.

The lights came on five minutes before that deadline.

Following a cagey first half, Korea came out flying after the break with both fullbacks bombing forward at every opportunity.

It was from left back Oh Beom-sok's scything delivery that Korea took the lead, diminutive winger Choi Sung-kuk somehow rising above his Saudi marker to glance home a header off the post in the 66th minute.

SHADOWY END

Korea took the game by the scruff of the neck at this point and began cutting Saudi Arabia to shreds down both flanks in search of a killer second goal.

However, the Arab side scored next, Saudi danger man Malek Mazz going down under a soft-looking challenge and Yasser Al Qahtani making no mistake from the penalty spot.

With the game heading for an exciting climax, darkness suddenly descended when the stadium was hit by a power failure with five minutes to go.

Frustrated fans hooted and hollered from darkened stands as players stood hands on hips in astonishment while a few defiant floodlights cast eerie shadows.

Play restarted when the remainder of the floodlights flashed back to life, though the rest of the stadium remained in darkness.

Korea coach Pim Verbeek praised his team's performance against what he called one of the strongest sides in the tournament, but admitted that a late chance the Saudis spurned was due to his team losing focus at the end.

"I could not blame my players for losing concentration," the Dutchman said.

Verbeek said the penalty was an "unlucky moment" but that the draw was a fair result.

Co-hosts Indonesia lead Group D after their shock 2-1 win over Bahrain on Tuesday, though group favourites Korea and Saudi Arabia still have every chance of going through.