Trail of the Lion King

After watching the match between Jungnang Mustang Chorus and Namyangju United earlier in the afternoon I crossed Seoul on the subway, arriving at Geumchon station just before five o’clock. The game wasn’t scheduled to kick off until seven and so I thought I might as well just walk to the stadium. It’s easy enough, you come out of exit one, cross the road and continue in the same direction along the main road for about twenty minutes.

When the road starts to bear around to the left, take the immediate left down a side street and you’ll stumble across the ground sooner or later.

It’s not quite Ordnance Survey standard but it should get you there.

Paju is only a few miles from the border with North Korea and so I’d expected to see quite a sizeable military contingent. I was wrong in my assumption though and the only uniformed presence I spotted were these two old fellas drinking soju outside of a convenience store. If the North are ever going to make their move, I’d suggest targeting Paju on a Saturday tea-time.

Corporal Jones and Private Godfrey at the ready.

As I got close to the ground I noticed that the floodlights were already on. No real surprise there as the sun was starting to go down and they would need to be on well before kick-off. What was more unexpected was that I could hear shouts, chants and someone blowing a whistle. Oh dear. Either the police were breaking up a demonstration or the game was already underway.There was a gate open behind one of the goals and I walked in to find the match in progress. The scoreboard was showing thirty-seven minutes had been played, hopefully of the first half.

The view from the gate I went in through.

The scoreboard was also showing that the game was level at a goal each. As I hadn’t seen either of them I’ll assume that Paju’s was a screamer from outside the box, similar to the one Emerson scored against Sunderland, whilst Cheonan’s effort was just like Terry Cochrane’s overhead kick against Swansea. Only better.

The stadium is a fairly typical example of a Korean multi-purpose ground. A mainly open bowl with limited covering down one side and a running track separating the spectators from the pitch. An interesting feature of this ground though was the view of some graves up on the hillside behind the goal to my left. It also has a caldron for a flame, which would come in very handy should Jacques Rogge ever decide that Paju would be an ideal choice for staging the Olympics.

Hillside graves.

Paju were in green shirts whilst Cheonan were in orange.  I’d estimate that there were probably around a hundred people there which isn’t bad for a game that had kicked off two hours earlier than advertised. Initially I’d thought that the two sets of half a dozen ultras a hundred yards apart were each supporting Cheonan until I eventually realised that the only home fan to wear any colours had decided to wear his orange away shirt. His green shirt must have been in the wash.

Some of the Paju fans. Most of them actually.

A few minutes after I’d arrived the ref blew for half-time rather than full-time and I was able to sit back, crack open the first can of the day and await the second half. Paju have had a decent first season in the Challengers League but are just starting to slip a bit. I saw them drop two points away at bottom of their section Goyang a few weeks ago and if they really wanted to remain in contention for a play-off spot then they needed to beat a Cheonan team that had nothing to play for.

Both teams had their chances early in the second half, but it was Paju who managed to take the lead on the hour. Cheonan failed to get anywhere near a corner and Kim Su Won headed the home side in front.

Two – One.

Cheonan were still squabbling amongst themselves a couple or minutes later and Paju quickly grabbed a third goal. The sudden capitulation seemed too much for the visitors and their left back was sent off soon after. He stomped off, throwing his shirt down Keegan-style.

The ten men were able to keep the home side at bay for the next quarter of an hour but then Yoon Seok Hyun went through the back of a Paju player and picked up his second yellow to reduce his side to nine men. He was a bit more reluctant to leave the field than his team-mate had been but eventually left after angrily booting a water bottle into orbit.

“It’s so unfair!!”

In the re-organisation that followed, the lad who got subbed showed a similar level of frustration at having to leave the field and he too launched one of the water bottles.

With seven minutes to go Paju striker Yang Hyo Jik somehow managed to nip between a Cheonan defender and the keeper to stroke the ball home and make it 4-1. The beaten keeper Woo Tae Shik must have said something to the ref and he got a straight red for his trouble. Cheonan didn’t have a substitute keeper and so outfield player Kwon Tae Joon had to go in goal. Unfortunately Woo Tae Shik had buggered off with his goalie top and in the absence of a spare, Kwon had to make do with a training bib.

It’s what all the best dressed goalies are wearing this year.

It was still 4-1 when we reached the ninety minute mark and with Cheonan’s remaining eight men obviously well beaten it seemed a bit mean for the ref to add another five minutes on. Paju took the piss a little and missed an absolute sitter before a three against one break led to their fifth. That was enough for the ref to put Cheonan out of their misery and call a halt.

That’s enough.

The win moved Paju up the table from fourth to third and kept their play-off hopes alive whilst Cheonan remained second from bottom.

This weekend was another one of those cut short by a trip to Oman late on the Saturday night and to make matters worse there were no football fixtures scheduled in the National or Challengers Leagues. There were only three games taking place in the top-tier K-League and as two of them were too far away to get back from in time, I was left with Seongnam’s visit to Incheon United.

I took the subway to Dowon and, as I didn’t want to sit in the sun, I bought myself a 12,000 won ticket for the west stand. If I’d been prepared to have the sun in my eyes then I could have got in for 8,000.

Shiny and new.

I wandered around outside for a while and had a look at some of the merchandising stalls. They didn’t seem to be doing much business although a tent at the end of the line where three Incheon players were signing autographs had a queue sixty yards long.

Half of them probably didn’t stay for the match.

There was plenty of room inside the twenty thousand capacity stadium. The official attendance was announced as 3,540 but I’d estimate that there were probably only half that number there at best and maybe even less than a thousand when the game kicked off.

The home fans were behind the goal to my right in the ‘safe-standing’ area. There were almost as many banners and flags as people, but they made a decent effort and sang for most of the game.

Incheon fans.

Seongnam had the open end of the stadium and had brought about fifty fans with them. That is probably more than they have actively supporting their team at their own ground, although I suppose there’s more of a temptation to join in with the singing at away games.

Seongnam fans.

About twenty of the Seongnam supporters were wearing identical tee-shirts. On the back there was a picture of Father Jack with the slogan ‘Feck Off’ underneath and on the front, beneath the badges of FC Seoul and Incheon United were the words ‘I hate these scums’.

Whilst I quite like the idea that Father Jack has a relevance in Korea  fourteen years after Father Ted finished, I find it hard to imagine that either of those teams, FC Seoul in particular, would give a monkey’s about Seongnam or the dodgy tee-shirts worn by their fans.

It seemed such a good idea when they were in the pub.

Football-wise, there wasn’t much to mention in the first half. I’d backed Incheon to win at 13/10 but they didn’t ever look like scoring. Seongnam had a couple of chances on the break but nothing that really caused me any concern.

A random airborne assault.

At half-time I got myself a bag of three hard-boiled eggs to eat. They were the toughest eggs that I’ve ever eaten and I was relieved not to have lost any teeth by the time I’d finished them. I was left wondering if they had bought a large quantity at the start of the season and then six months later been left with a stock surplus when the people of Incheon turned out not to be that interested in football. Next time I’ll just get an ice-cream.

The second half followed a similar pattern to the first, with Incheon having most of the possession, but Seongnam looking the more dangerous with their counter attacks.

This was actually in the first half.

Everything livened up when, with fifteen minutes to go, Incheon’s Son Dae Ho picked up a second yellow. It seemed a bit harsh to me, although had it been his first card I doubt anyone would have complained. I know that’s not how it should be, but it is. He and his teammates argued with the ref for a while, but in the end he had to go.

Gu Bon Sang argues in support of Son Dae Ho.

Dropping down to ten men seemed to spur Incheon on and within a minute they had hit the post. They then forced a good save from Seongnam goalie Jung San. The visitors had a chance or two themselves but in the end it finished goalless.

They all looked devastated at the end. Perhaps their bets were down too.

The result didn’t really matter apart from to those of us who’d had a wager. The mid-season split of the league had left both clubs in the bottom section but without any real threat of relegation and with nothing to play for. In hindsight, I suppose it may not have been the best circumstances to have had a bet.

It’s Chuseok again in Korea. The time of year when dutiful Koreans return to their hometown to pay their respects to their ancestors and not so dutiful non-Koreans head off on holiday somewhere.

This year Jen and I went to Japan, staying in Kyoto for four nights and taking the opportunity to look around the Kansai region. As ever I made a point of seeing what sporting events were going on and as luck would have it Gamba Osaka were at home to Kashima Antlers in the J-League on our first day there.

We caught a morning Eastarjet flight from Incheon to Osaka Kansai and were in Japan by eleven o’clock. It took a while to get through immigration and then collect our Kansai Rail passes so we decided to get some lunch at the airport from a cafe called Beef Bowl. It served, as you might expect, bowls with beef in. The best bit though was that you made your choice at a vending machine by pressing the button with the appropriate photograph, inserting your money and then handing your printed ticket to the man behind the counter. As someone who speaks no Japanese it could only have been bettered if the beef bowl had been dispensed from the machine rather than a ticket.

After lunch we took the train to Shin Osaka station, dumped our bags in the left luggage and then took an hour-long journey by subway and monorail to Gamba Osaka’s Expo ’70 Commemorative Stadium. I’d tell you the names of the subway stops but I’ve forgotten them. The lady in the Tourist Information at Shin Osaka knows though, so you can ask her.

Expo ’70 Commemorative Stadium, Osaka.

It was fairly busy outside the stadium with cheerleaders putting on a bit of a show and with plenty of people milling around the stalls selling food and merchandise. Jen and I made our way to a bar where I got some unspecified meat on a stick and a Suntory beer.

The queue to get in at the Curva Nord.

We would probably have spent a little longer at the bar but it was starting to rain and as neither of us had brought a coat we thought it better to get some tickets and make our way inside. The tickets started at 2,500 yen and went up to 5,500. We got two top-priced ones in the main stand (described as box seats) on the basis that they might have a better chance of being under cover. No chance. The small canopy covered only a small selection of local bigwigs and sponsors, everyone else in that stand and the rest of the ground found themselves exposed to the elements.

The fans in the opposite stand had all brought their coats.

Despite the weather the twenty-one thousand capacity ground was about two-thirds full. The home ‘ultras’ had the North stand to our left with the visitors taking up a decent chunk of the opposite end. Both of those sections were standing areas, the new modern kind with barriers between each row. It lent itself to a great atmosphere with both sets of fans making a racket throughout the game.

The home end.

The singing was all quite well organised with one bloke and his megaphone leading the chants. He’d generally have to just give them one line and with a couple of couple of drummers chipping in, the whole end would take it up.

“C’mon Gamba”

It was a similar situation at the Kashima end, although with fewer fans. It’s over three hundred miles from Osaka to Kashima so it was still a decent turnout. Although I suppose the bullet train might just cut the journey time a bit from what you’d expect.

The away fans.

Both sides have been struggling this season and with only a handful of games to go Gamba are in the relegation area and Kashima just outside of it, five points ahead of their hosts. A win for Kashima would probably be enough to ensure that Gamba wouldn’t be able to catch them.

After a cagey opening ten minutes the visitors took the lead through Renato Caja, much to the delight of their fans.

Tits out for the lads.

It wasn’t to last though and midway through the half Brazilian Leandro equalised for Gamba Osaka. It probably spared him from a half-time bollocking as he’d missed an absolute sitter a minute or so before.

Osaka celebrate their equaliser and a new baby for someone.

Parity didn’t last long though as Junior Dutra became the third Brazillian to score, putting Kashima back in front just before the break. There was another Brazilian on the visiting bench, Juninho. Not the real one or even the fake one who used to play for Lyon. A fake, fake one I suppose. I checked him out on Soccerway and he’s about five foot ten. That’s odd, I’d always thought that Juninho was Portuguese for ‘Shortarse’ or something. It seems an odd choice of nickname, especially in a country like Japan where he’ll be taller than most of his teammates.

At half time we took refuge from the rain and I got myself another Suntory. As in Korea, ramyeon seemed pretty popular as a snack, along with the meat on a stick that I’d eaten earlier.

Half-time snack.

The rain eased off in the second half, but with a wet pitch both teams pinged the ball about and created plenty of chances. Gamba were attacking the home end and went close on a few occasions.

Endo curls in a cross.

We headed out with five minutes to go as we had stuff to do and were keen to beat the rest of the crowd to the subway. Unfortunately that meant we missed Leandro’s injury time equaliser, his ninth goal in five games. Forty minutes later we were back at Shin Osaka station and then onwards to Kyoto.