South Korea failed to score for the third consecutive game but still booked their place in next year's Men's Olympic Football Tournament after a goalless draw with Bahrain on Wednesday night.
Despite creating the majority of the chances at Ansan Wa Stadium, Park Sung-hwa's side played out their third straight 0-0 draw in Group B. However, it was enough for them to edge out the Bahrainis by one point as they booked their sixth consecutive appearance at the Olympics.
The Koreans created the better opportunities of a generally uneventful first half and could have taken the lead in the ninth minute.
Kim Seung-yong crossed from the right byline to Lee Keun-ho who directed a header on target but was denied by goalkeeper Seyed Jaafar.
Although the Bahrainis needed a win to progress, they never seriously threatened the Korean goal in the opening half with their best attempt falling to Jaycee Okwunwanne, who turned past his marker in the 20th minute to create an opening but fired well over the crossbar from 20 yards.
Park Chu-young's neat lay-off in the 34th minute sent Seo Dong-hyeon clear but the striker delayed his shot and defender Abbas Ayyad was able to get back in time to block his attempt on goal.
Three minutes before the interval, the ball broke to Ki Sung-yeung on the edge of the box. His shot was on target but well covered by Jaafar.
The Bahrainis failed to trouble goalkeeper Jung Sung-ryong in the first 45 minutes but showed greater urgency at the start of the second half, nearly taking the lead in the 50th minute when Abdulla Fatadi took the ball past Kang Min-soo with a neat touch before firing in a low right-footed shot that was turned around the post by Jung.
Three minutes later, Seo flicked the ball past a Bahraini defender at the other end but his shot from a tight angle was blocked by Jaafar's body.
Jung then launched a long goal-kick that picked out Park Chu-young, who took the ball past the advancing Jaafar with his first touch but put his shot wide from a tight angle.
Okwunwanne managed to outpace Kang Min-soo down the left channel on 64 minutes but his shot across goal was easily saved by Jung.
The Koreans quickly broke upfield with Ki crossing to an unmarked Lee Keun-ho, who controlled the ball with his chest but fired well over the crossbar from 15 metres.
With 15 minutes left, Ki nearly played Park through with a fine diagonal pass but Jasim Al Maloud took the ball off the FC Seoul striker's foot with a well-timed challenge.
But at the end, the fact that the Koreans had managed to score only four goals in six matches didn't matter as they got the result they needed to book their place in Beijing next summer.
The Koreans created the better opportunities of a generally uneventful first half and could have taken the lead in the ninth minute.
Kim Seung-yong crossed from the right byline to Lee Keun-ho who directed a header on target but was denied by goalkeeper Seyed Jaafar.
Although the Bahrainis needed a win to progress, they never seriously threatened the Korean goal in the opening half with their best attempt falling to Jaycee Okwunwanne, who turned past his marker in the 20th minute to create an opening but fired well over the crossbar from 20 yards.
Park Chu-young's neat lay-off in the 34th minute sent Seo Dong-hyeon clear but the striker delayed his shot and defender Abbas Ayyad was able to get back in time to block his attempt on goal.
Three minutes before the interval, the ball broke to Ki Sung-yeung on the edge of the box. His shot was on target but well covered by Jaafar.
The Bahrainis failed to trouble goalkeeper Jung Sung-ryong in the first 45 minutes but showed greater urgency at the start of the second half, nearly taking the lead in the 50th minute when Abdulla Fatadi took the ball past Kang Min-soo with a neat touch before firing in a low right-footed shot that was turned around the post by Jung.
Three minutes later, Seo flicked the ball past a Bahraini defender at the other end but his shot from a tight angle was blocked by Jaafar's body.
Jung then launched a long goal-kick that picked out Park Chu-young, who took the ball past the advancing Jaafar with his first touch but put his shot wide from a tight angle.
Okwunwanne managed to outpace Kang Min-soo down the left channel on 64 minutes but his shot across goal was easily saved by Jung.
The Koreans quickly broke upfield with Ki crossing to an unmarked Lee Keun-ho, who controlled the ball with his chest but fired well over the crossbar from 15 metres.
With 15 minutes left, Ki nearly played Park through with a fine diagonal pass but Jasim Al Maloud took the ball off the FC Seoul striker's foot with a well-timed challenge.
But at the end, the fact that the Koreans had managed to score only four goals in six matches didn't matter as they got the result they needed to book their place in Beijing next summer.
Copyright (c) Press Association
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