(LEAD) S. Korea respond to defender's criticism with mediocre effort in win vs. Uzbekistan

YONGIN, South Korea, Oct. 6 (Yonhap) -- Following South Korea's goalless draw against Venezuela last Friday, defender Kim Min-jae did not mince words.

In a televised interview, Kim offered a scathing criticism on the national team's effort level, saying he did not get the impression that everyone was competing hard and he felt sorry for his fellow defenders for having to clean up the mess created by others.

The Bayern Munich center back, who was seen angrily tossing away his spikes after being subbed out, also called on all of his teammates "to keep their heads down and play hard."

Those teammates' response Tuesday night against Uzbekistan must not have pleased Kim, even though South Korea won the match 2-0.

Kim, who was held out of the lineup due to fatigue, watched South Korea struggle to establish themselves against the underdog opponent at Yongin Mireu Stadium in Yongin, some 40 kilometers south of Seoul. Uzbekistan came in at 59th in the live FIFA rankings, 27 spots below South Korea.

The home team opened the scoring in the sixth minute on Son Heung-min's free kick goal, with the spot kick awarded on a handball violation by an Uzbek defender. However, instead of building on that early momentum, South Korea ceded control to the visitors, who often outnumbered the Taegeuk Warriors in midfield and used their speed effectively to generate dangerous chances in counterbreaks.

For yet another match, South Korea lacked cohesion and speed with their buildup plays, unable to move the ball with purpose from their own half after regaining possession.

Uzbekistan might have been a little rough around the edges, but they attacked with more abandon than their opponents. They finished with 12 shot attempts, two more than South Korea, and Uzbekistan also won the possession battle by 54-46.

A pair of second-half substitutes injected some energy into the South Korean offense and connected for the team's second goal, with Song Min-kyu making a hard drive down the right flank and sending a cross to the middle of the box for Oh Se-hun's header goal in the 60th minute.

It was one of precious few offensive plays in the match that demonstrated any degree of offensive organization.

At the other end, South Korea could easily have conceded multiple goals, if not for some heroics by goalkeeper Jo Hyeon-woo.

Jo bailed out his defenders all night before being subbed out in the 84th minute. In one crucial stretch in the 57th minute, Jo made back-to-back diving stops on Akmal Mozgovoy and on Odiljon Hamrobekov, keeping South Korea up by one before Oh doubled the team's lead.

South Korea played four matches in the Sept.-Oct. FIFA match window, their first four under caretaker boss Robert Moreno.

Moreno's short tenure began with a 3-0 win over Ecuador on Sept. 24, which was followed four days later by a 4-1 loss to Uruguay. The draw versus Venezuela came another four days later, sparking debate on whether Moreno, who is signed through the end of November, is the right man to take this team to next year for the Asian Football Confederation Asian Cup and possibly beyond.

When announcing its appointment of Moreno in early September, the Korea Football Association said Moreno will be given a chance to stay on to coach through the Asian Cup, depending on the team's performance in his first six matches. With four of those games in the books and two away matches on the horizon next month, Moreno has not helped his job security.

As captain of the squad, Son admitted the vibes in the locker room was not exactly immaculate after the Venezuela match but he tried to take something positive out of the situation.

"I think it was a good sign. It just showed me that these players care so much about the team," he said. "I learned that my teammates are really passionate about this team, and we were able to create an opportunity to turn things around and compete even harder. That was really great to see."