Call it luck or tactical genius, for the second day running a Dutch coach was saved by an inspired substitution in a World Cup match.
On Monday, Guus Hiddink sent on Tim Cahill to claw a victory for Australia when all seemed lost against Japan, then 24 hours later Dick Advocaat got it right when he introduced Ahn Jung-hwan against Togo in a sweltering Waldstadion.
The decision to leave the golden boy of Korean football on the bench looked to have backfired badly on Advocaat when his side trailed 1-0 at halftime to a Togo team whose preparations for the match had been shambolic.
| |||||||||||
Ahn's second-half arrival was greeted with a huge roar from the red army of Korean fans inside the stadium and his impact was immediate.
Where Togo's defenders had dealt easily with Korea's laboured build-up in the first half, they were suddenly rattled by the 30-year-old's ability to drift into space.
Direct and fast, he had Togo's defenders backing off for the first time in the match.
Ahn's team mates were lifted by his appearance and visibly gained in confidence.
CAME ALIVE
Park Ji-sung suddenly came alive and it was his run that produced a rash challenge from Togo captain Jean Paul Yaovi Abalo Dosseh that resulted in his red card and a free kick which Lee Chun-soo smashed in for the equaliser.
Attacking first down the right, then switching to the left, an overstretched Togo defence could not track Ahn down.
When he took possession of the ball in the 72nd minute, he only had one thing in mind and he delivered the goal that earned a 2-1 win in spectacular style.
"I thought the lineup we started with was the best for the match but bringing Ahn on was a success and the two goals were well deserved," Advocaat told reporters.
But defeat was hard on Togo.
Despite a farcical build-up to their first World Cup match, when coach Otto Pfister quit over a pay dispute among the squad before returning to lead the team on Tuesday, they worked extremely hard.
Mohamed Kader Coubadja was a revelation up front and Emmanuel Adebayor, hero of the qualification campaign, showed plenty of the flair which persuaded Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger to sign him last season.
Defeat completed a miserable few days for Africa's four first-time qualifiers, with all losing their opening matches.
If a semblance of sanity breaks out in the team camp after days of chaos, however, Togo could yet make an impact against Group G opponents France and Switzerland.
