Pohang Steel Title

The Pohang Steelers went to the stadium Ittihad had called home for on two-weeks, and surprised the ‘hosts’ and their fans by claiming an inspirational two-one victory.

However, after the first forty-five minutes, it seemed like the title was there for the taking for Ittihad. In fact, there were only thirty odd seconds on the clock when their first decent opportunity came around. Pohang’s Hwa-young came rushing off his line to try and clear the ball but was beaten to it by Hicham Aboucherouane (what a name!). Unfortunately for Aboucherouane and Ittihad, he was unable to get the right finish on the ball and put it straight into the side netting. But it was an early sign of intent from the Saudi’s.

Pohang though were not planning on sitting back and soaking up the pressure, and after Denilson went close with a cross, Tae-soo hit a stinging strike that was destined for the bottom corner of the far post. But Zayed made a good stop to ensure a frantic opening remained goal-less.

Aboucherouane was proving to be a constant threat on the Pohang goal, and he tested Hwa-young numerous times, but the number one was equal to the task. That brought the first half to an end, but Ittihad would have wished it went on for a little bit longer. They were in the driver’s seat at this moment.

Things remained tense after the restart, with neither side able to take opportunities. However, on 57-minutes, that all changed. No Byung-jun stepped up to take a free kick from a dangerous position, and whilst it was not a peach of a delivery, the ball was able to evade the somewhat mediocre efforts of Noor in the wall, and sneak past Zayed, ending up in the back of the net. An unfortunate situation for Noor, who had simply been one of Ittihad’s best this campaign.

It only got better for Pohang though, ten minutes later and they were up by two. Kim Jae-sung looked up and found Kim Hung-il. Hung-il stayed composed and found the net with a wonderful header to shock Ittihad and the small crowd who had turned up for the final.

Things had gone pear shaped for the Saudi’s, whilst Pohang could hardly believe their eyes. But to Ittihad’s credit they rallied, and when Noor stroke to make amends for his earlier ‘error’ in the 74^th-minute, it set up a tense finale. Ittihad continued to press against a tiring Pohang side, but the Korean side just wouldn’t budge.

Australian referee, Mark Breeze, blew for full time and sparked wild celebrations for the Koreans, whilst Ittihad were left to ponder on what might have been. First goal scorer, Byung-jun, was presented with the MVP Award, whilst further icing was added to the cake when they also picked up the Fair Play Award.

It was a truly great win by Pohang and it was a campaign with many different hopes, dreams and inspirations that will ultimately see the club represent Asia at next year’s FIFA Club World Cup. Spare a thought for Al Ittihad, who had an equally impressive showing throughout the tournament and wowed many over Asia and the world. But it’s the Korean’s that will wake up with the preferred sore heads tomorrow morning.

Congrats Pohang Steelers, 2008/9 Asian Champions League Winners!!