Rasic made three changes for the return match, bringing back Schaefer and Rooney in place of Watkiss and Warren, and dropping his tall striker Adrian Alston for Victorian Branko Buljevic. South Korea started the game in Seoul in front of a crowd of 27,000 with tons of confidence and quickly had the Australian defence in trouble. The big striker Kim Jae Han soon made clear he was the master in the air against Manfred Schaefer. He was out-jumping the Socceroo defence with ease.

In the seventh minute, a Kim header went inches over the bar. The Koreans were looking far more aggressive.

They deservedly went ahead after 15 minutes after an incredible blunder. Australian defender Doug Utjesenovic tried to backpass to goalkeeper Jimmy Fraser but the ball ricocheted of Fraser's body to the waiting feet of Kim Jea Han. Kim latched on to the ball and coolly drove it into the back of the unguarded net from ten metres.

The blistering pace continued and the players forgot about the early morning snowflakes and three degree temperature. Australia was often in trouble, but the midfield was setting down.

The Koreans' barrage continued and a second goal had to come. In the 28th minute, Australian midfielder Jim Mackay fouled Koh Jae Wook on the edge of the Australian penalty area.

Korean midfield star Park Byoung Chul slung over a menacing centre which Utjesenovic only partially cleared. Koh Jea Wook picked up the loose ball and his thundering shot from 15 metres hit Fraser on the way into the back of the net and the Socceroos were two-nil down.

Things looked very black for Australia as the Koreans surged forward for the kill.

Kim was causing Schaefer all sorts of trouble in the air and Utjesenovic also looked clearly upset by his blunder.

However, the Socceroos continued to fight and pulled a goal back in the 30th minute with a magnificent Branco Buljevic header from 10 metres.

Col Curran broke free on the left and crossed high into the Korean goalmouth where Buljevic was on his own to head into the net. If ever a team breathed more freely it was the Australians and this rather unexpected goal took much of the steam out of the Koreans.

In the first half, the Australian midfield had much of the better of the exchanges and Jimmy Rooney was the outstanding player.

The tiny Rooney - dwarfed by some of the by some of the giant Asians – fought like a tiger for every ball and had the skill to set his team on the attack. He was ably backed by Mackay and Richards who also put in a power of work. The Australian strikers at this stage were being kept quiet by the strong Korean defence.

After the interval, the Socceroos turned on a great performance. The forwards started to look for goals.

Australia, knowing that their chances hung on snatching a goal immediately after the interval, quickly swarmed all over the Koreans.

It took one of the incredibly long Ray Richards throw ins to set up the equaliser in the 48th minute. Richards throw, as usual, landed square in the middle of the Korean penalty area and set the home team into panic. Baartz latched on to the ball in the melee and hammered it home from 12 metres. It was now two-all.

The performances of both Baartz and Buljevic vindicated the selection decisions of coach Rale Rasic.

Baartz had turned in a dismal performance in the Sydney game and had been expected to be dropped. Rasic, however, struck by Australia Australia’s most-capped player, and Baartz did not let his coach down.

He played with new-found fire and all his old speed and skill returned as he baulked and weaved his way through the Korean defence. Buljevic was unlucky not to score when his powerful shot was blocked by Kim on the line with the goalkeeper beaten.

The dejected Koreans were back on their heels grimly trying to hold on to the draw after earlier being master of the situation.

Abonyi shot narrowly over the top, Buljevic shot into the side netting, and Wilson crashed the ball against the upright.

The early threat of the giant Kim was no longer as he was crash-tackled twice in succession by captain Peter Wilson and Schaefer and this slowed the Korean terror down to a standstill.

The Asians had now changed their tactics and were relying on the quick break to try and grab a goal. On two occasions this caused panic in the Australian backline, and only last-ditch tackles by Richards saved the day.Richards damaged his knee in one of these tackles and had replaced by Adrian Alston.

The game ended with Australia trying hard to grab the winner but the Korean defence held out to the end. The game was over.

All the respect that the Australians lost in the first game at the Sydney Sports Ground was won back on the cold and windy Seoul stadium.

"The boys were magnificent today," said coach Rasic.

Now the teams had to meet in Hong Kong the following Tuesday evening 8pm in a tie-breaker to determine the Asian World Cup elimination round.

Some statistics of the game. Australia: Corner kicks 4, free kicks 17, goal kicks 7, offside 1.

South Korea: Corner kicks 7, free kicks 28, goal kicks 4, offside 3.

Korean supporters were calling for the head of coach Min Byoung Dae and blaming him for adopting bad tactics. Two Korean newspapers lashed out at him for not closing the game up when his side was two goals in the lead.

The Socceroos flew in to Hong Kong at 5:00pm - two days before kick-off. At the airport both coaches, Rale Rasic of Australia and Min Byoung Dae of Korea, announced that they would field unchanged teams in the playoff. Although midfielder Ray Richards is on the doubtful list with a bruised left kneecap, Rasic included him in the line-up in the hope that he recovers in time.

If he fails a last minute fitness test, Adrian Alston will come into a striking position and Ray Baartz will drop into the midfield. Richards said that he was hopeful his injury would be alright. "Intensive physiotherapy treatment has improved it," he said.

On arrival at their Hong Kong hotel, Peter Wilson and Col Curran complained of head colds. They were given antibiotics and sent to bed by Rasic.

Tomorrow night's World Cup playoff is a sellout with all tickets sold by 1pm today. From early morning, a three kilometre queue stretched from the Hong Kong Football Association Offices.

Blackmarketeers are now doing a roaring trade with tickets fetching five times their face price. Mr Tam Sau Sum, secretary of the Hong Kong Association, said this is the first World Cup match held in Hong Kong. "This is the greatest football match ever staged here and everyone wants to see it."

Rasic has arranged two training schedules for today, one at 11am and another at 6pm. Both workouts will be light as the players are in top condition after their hard game in Seoul. Midfielder Ray Richards looks almost certain to play. He was training with Australia’s squad this morning.

Meanwhile, the Socceroos have found the change of weather from the cold of Seoul to the humidity of Hong Kong hard to cope with.

The pitch, too, is much faster than the heavy ground in Korea. Col Curran pulled up well after Saturdays 2-2 draw in Seoul but since has been hit by flu, a legacy of the three degrees temperature and freezing rain during the match. Despite these problems, Australia is expected to be at full strength.

Iron man Manfred Schaefer has been given the task of blotting South Korea's giant striker Kim out of the final game which will be televised direct to Australia. At training yesterday, coach Rasic put Schaefer through pressurised drills designed to stop Kim.

Big Max Tolson and John Watkiss were the trial horses and Schaefer was set the task of stopping them in the air. Orders for the defence will be: "Play it simple and keep tight."

Richards has been declared fit, but his knee must be a question mark and Alston will be standing-by in case Richards is injured.

Wilson, Curran, and Fraser are back after a flu. Everyone is ready for the big clash tonight.

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