SYDNEY: Australia's Massimo Luongo breached the South Korean defence for the first time in the tournament on the stroke of halftime to give the hosts a 1-0 lead in the Asian Cup final at Stadium Australia on Saturday.
The South Koreans had looked most likely to break the deadlock as the half wore on but Luongo lashed the ball into the net from 25 metres to send the majority of the 80,000 crowd into a frenzy.
The match started with a breathless first 15 minutes in which every ball was contested and every possession short and often ended with a crunching tackle.
Both team's main scoring hope had an early chance with Tim Cahill slapping the ball straight at Kim Jin-hyeon from an angle and Son Heung-min letting fly over the bar from the edge of the box.
Australia skipper Mile Jedinak curled a free kick over the bar after eight minutes but otherwise chances were few and far between as both teams got plenty of men behind the ball.
Veteran South Korea defender Kwak Tae-hwi got his head on a freekick in the 24th minute only to steer it wide of the post and a minute later, Robbie Kruse's cross from the right found Cahill whose thumping shot was well saved by Kim Jin-hyeon.
The South Koreans, who are chasing a first Asian title in 55 years, had bolstered their already mean defence with the addition of Jang Hyun-soo to play in front of the back four.
Right back Ivan Franjic started despite picked up a hip injury in Australia's semi-final victory over United Arab Emirates on Tuesday and the Koreans targeted his flank in particular.
The Socceroos defender was booked for pulling back Park Joo-ho in the fifth minute and it was good work by Kim Jin-su down the left that set up the first of two chances for Son around the 37th minute.
The attacking midfielder took Kim's cross first time but his volley flew just over the bar and Luongo was on hand to block Son's shot after Cha Du-ri's charge down the right wing a minute later.
Eight minutes later and Luongo took Trent Sainsbury through ball with a deft touch before blasting it into the net past Kim Jin-hyeon's despairing dive.
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