South Korea defender scores 2 own goals in loss to Russia

Russia’s Fyodor Smolov, third from left, celebrates after scoring a goal during the international friendly soccer match between Russia and South Korea in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, Oct. 7, 2017. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)

MOSCOW — South Korea defender Kim Ju-young conceded two own goals in three minutes as his team lost to Russia 4-2 in a friendly on Saturday.

Kim turned the ball into his own net at a corner in the 55th minute to go 2-0 down, and seconds after the restart, he tried to cut out a pass from Alexander Yerokhin on the edge of the box, but it bounced off his foot and rolled into the bottom-right corner, leaving the goalkeeper stranded.

Despite his double gift, Kim played the full 90 minutes.

For Russia, it was a morale-boosting first international game since its disappointing Confederations Cup group-stage exit, while South Korea has gone five games without a win despite having qualified last month for next year’s World Cup in Russia.

Fyodor Smolov gave the hosts the lead in the 45th when he headed an Alexander Samedov corner off the ground and in. Alexei Miranchuk made it 4-0 on a rebound.

Kwon Kyung-won scored with a header on his international debut in the 87th and Ji Dong-won added another consolation goal in stoppage time.