Sports Briefs

FOOTBALL

Jeonbuk notches convincing win during ACL group stage

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors breezed past Becamex Binh Duong of Vietnam at its home in Jeonju World Cup Stadium on Tuesday, going 2-0 during its Asian Champions League (ACL) group stage match.

Going into the game ranked second in the group, Jeonbuk was determined to make up for its 2-3 loss to Jiangsu Suning FC of China on March 1.

Ricardo Lopes scored first for Jeonbuk in the 41st minute when he drove a shot to the upper left corner after receiving a pass from Lee Jae-sung in a free kick. Jeonbuk didn’t see additional goals until the last minute of the match when Lee Dong-gook connected the pass by Lopes with his right foot to net the finisher.

Jeonbuk’s fierceness in its attacks was evident as Jeonbuk had 15 shot attempts with five shots on target.

While Jeonbuk carded a win, Suning tied with FC Tokyo at 0-0 on the same day. The big-spending Chinese club fell to second in the standing after Jeonbuk.

The Suwon Samsung Bluewings also played on Tuesday in the ACL group stage. Suwon held Melbourne Victory of Australia to a 0-0 draw in an away game at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium in Australia. Even though Suwon had eight shot attempts, including striker Kim Jong-min’s sharp kick off his left foot in the 77th minute, Suwon was unable to place a ball behind Melbourne’s goalpost the entire match.

After the draw with Melbourne, Suwon is ranked fourth in the group standings with two points.

The top two teams from each group will advance to play in the second round of ACL.

BY CHOI HYUNG-JO

ALPINE SKIING

After training crash, one

World Cup dream up in air

ST. MORITZ, Switzerland - Dominik Paris crashed in downhill training Tuesday at the World Cup finals, leaving his hopes for the discipline title in jeopardy.

Paris, who won the past two downhills, limped away after falling just after the first intermediate section. Tests revealed he has injured his left thigh and knee but not broken anything and Paris is hopeful of starting Wednesday.

Paris trails Italian teammate Peter Fill and Aksel Lund Svindal by four points in the downhill standings. Svindal is out for the season after knee surgery following a crash at the Jan. 23 downhill in Kitzbuehel, Austria, which Fill won.

There is a chance the race could be postponed or cancelled with snow and strong winds predicted, although organizers have said they have several options open to them to ensure it goes ahead. If it is cancelled, Svindal will claim the crystal globe thanks to a greater number of victories.

Fill had the best time in Tuesday’s training, 0.12 seconds faster than Beat Feuz of Switzerland and 0.17 ahead of teammate Christof Innerhofer.

No Italian has ever won the men’s downhill title. Norway’s Kjetil Jansrud is 54 points behind Fill, with Adrien Theaux of France 12 points further back.

AP