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October 19, 2009
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Lee’s poor performance in the 2-1 defeat to Manchester was a disappointment to both Manager Gary Megson and Lee. Megson said Lee struggled, and the disappointed Lee refused to hold interviews with Korean media. “I didn’t think Lee would struggle to this degree. It seemed he started to tire starting at the late stages of the first half,” said Megson. He added that he would consider Lee’s playing status coming off long flights in the future. Lee had been playing well of late, showing solid play in his past three matches with his best being the Carling Cup match against West Ham United. Lee had continued to show strong play in the friendly match against Senegal, assisting on both goals in the 2-0 win. Lee had secured a starting spot in the Manchester United match two weeks ago prior to leaving for the international friendly in Seoul. However, the match proved too much for the young midfielder who was coming off a two days rest and preparation period after a 10-hour flight from Seoul. The inexperienced midfielder also struggled against United defender Patrice Evra as he failed play a significant role on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. Megson took Lee out of the game in the 54th minute and replaced him with forward Ivan Klasnic. The match had been of interest to Korean football fans as it had the possibility of featuring the national team captain Park Ji-sung against the promising midfielder in Lee. However, Park was a scratch and has now failed to play in five consecutive matches for Manchester. By Cho Han-bok [jason@joongang.co.kr] |
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