Details
| Date | Time | League | Season |
|---|---|---|---|
| June 18, 1991 | 3:49 pm | 6th World Youth Championship 1st Round Group A | 1991 |
Results
| Team | 1st Half | 2nd Half | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Republic of Ireland | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| South Korea | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 1 | 0 |
| 0 | 0 |
| 0 | 0 |
| 0 | 0 |
KO 55 59 88 FT
Recap
Republic of Ireland would have been disappointed before the Tournament to have drawn against South Korea, however, given that South Korea had defeated Argentina in their opening game a 1-1 draw with the best team in Asian Soccer may not have been all that disappointing for the team.
Republic of Ireland’s goal came from Paul McCarthy in the 59th minute. It was all Ireland deserved but after defending brilliantly in for the remainder of the game Ireland’s hopes of qualifying for the Quarter-Finals were left shattered after South Korea equalized with the last kick of the game.
Republic of Ireland kept the Koreans pinned in their own half for most of the first half, and created several chances, the closest to scoring coming in the 25th minute when a brilliant cross from John Bacon found Kieran Toal in the box, who cannoned a header off the crossbar. A minute later the Korean goal survived again when their Goalkeeper just managed to keep out a Lee Power shot. Four minutes from the break Derek McGrath saw his driving shot bounce off the Korean Goalkeepers’ chest.
A silly challenge 14 minutes into the second half led to an Irish Indirect Free Kick inside the Penalty Area, which was swept toawrds the far post by Kieran Brady. Paul McCarthy headed it against the woodwork, but from the rebound Barry O’Connor knocked it back to McCarthy who put Ireland 1-0 up.
Despite all the chances and pressure though, Ireland were unable to keep out the Koreans, who had escpaped with a late win in their game with Argentina and now escpaped with a late draw versus Ireland, leaving Ireland needing a miracle on the Final day in order to progress.
Scoring
Republic of Ireland (0) 1 (McCarthy 59)
South Korea (0) 1 (Choi-Choi 90)
References
[1] (1991) “6th World Youth Championship for the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Cup 1991” World Soccer. August 1991. pg. 19.
[2] Paul Hyland (1991) “Heartbreak for Ireland” Irish Independent. Tuesday June 18th, 1991. pg. 14 [Past Copies of the Irish Independent are Available to view online at: https://www.irishnewsarchive.com/ ][Accessed 4 December 2021]