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Stoke City's Bae Jun-ho scores first goal of season in Korean derby against Eom Ji-sung’s Swansea City

Published: 16 Feb. 2025, 14:30 Updated: 16 Feb. 2025, 17:06

PAIK JI-HWAN
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Stoke City midfielder Bae Jun-ho celebrates scoring a goal during a Championship match against Swansea City at bet365 Stadium in England in a picture shared on Stoke's official X account on Feb. 15. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Stoke City midfielder Bae Jun-ho scored his first goal of the 2024-25 season in a Korean derby against Eom Ji-sung’s Swansea City on Saturday, contributing to a 3-1 win.

Bae converted a free-kick from Million Manhoef in the 73rd minute at bet365 Stadium in Stoke-on-Trent, snatching the lead to make it 2-1 after the opening goal from Josh Tymon in the 61st minute and equalizer from Wouter Burger three minutes later.

Bae’s goal was his first of the season across all competitions. He now has one goal and five assists from 35 appearances under his belt as of Sunday.

Neither side found the back of the net after Bae’s goal until Lewis Baker added goal No. 3 for Stoke in stoppage time to seal a vital three points and put Stoke in 19th place on the 24-team Championship table.

Eom, meanwhile, did not see his second goal contribution of the 2024-25 Championship season during 89 minutes on the pitch. The 22-year-old has recorded only one assist in the league this season — against Bristol City on Sept. 29 — and has yet to score his first goal for Swansea since joining the club in July last year.

The two Korean midfielders will have continuous domestic action to catch until their potential call-ups to the Korean national team for the March international break, during which the country will face Oman and Jordan.

Neither are national team veterans, but both made a few caps in recent international breaks under manager Hong Myung-bo.

Eom made two caps from September to October last year and demonstrated the potential that he could be a regular winger pick soon, while Bae deputized national team regular captain Son Heung-min during the October break and picked up two straight assists against Jordan and Iraq, in addition to one goal against Kuwait in the November break.

Korea's Eom Ji-sung, center, falls during the 2026 World Cup qualifier against Jordan at Amman International Stadium in Jordan on Oct. 10, 2024. [YONHAP]

Hong is expected to announce his roster when Korea’s upcoming schedule starts with a 2026 World Cup qualifier against Oman on March 20.

Bae and Eom will return to Championship action, lasting through May. The two won't face each other in the league through the end of the campaign, as Sunday’s fixture was the two clubs' last head-to-head match this season.

However, two more possible Korean derbies await in the Championship this season, with Stoke playing Yang Min-hyeok’s QPR on March 30 and Swansea facing the London side on April 21.

It would be Yang’s first time playing against countrymen overseas, as the 18-year-old was loaned to QPR last month from Tottenham Hotspur, where he began his overseas career after moving from K League 1 club Gangwon FC in January.

Yang has already made four Championship appearances and bagged his first assist against Derby on Friday.

QPR sit the highest among the three clubs at 13th, with Swansea in 17th and Stoke in 19th as of Sunday.

The standings may not be Yang’s biggest concern, as he is due to return to Spurs upon the end of his loan contract on May 31, but it is a different story for permanent fixtures Eom and Bae.

The two will see relegation to third-tier League One if Stoke and Swansea finish 22nd to 24th on the table.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [[email protected]]