WUHAN – DPR Korea coach Choe Kwang-sok was satisfied with a job well done after the defending champions opened their AFC U-19 Women's Championship account with a comprehensive 4-0 victory over Thailand.
Ho Un-byol's sublime free-kick gave them a seventh-minute lead but thanks to some plucky Thai defending, the Koreans then had to wait until six minutes after half-time to extend their advantage when Kim Un-hyang scrambled the ball over the line following a corner.
A Kim Chung-sim tap-in and an stoppage-time effort from Yun Hyon-hi that squirmed under keeper Waraporn Boonsing completed the scoring in the Group A opener but in truth, the margin of victory could have been much greater with Yun in particular guilty of profligacy in front of goal.
However Choe, who admitted before the start of the tournament he was unsure whether his side would be able to live up their billing as favourites, was unconcerned his side only found the back of the net four times.
“I think four goals were enough for our team,” he said.
“We have only been here in Wuhan one or two days so, in my opinion, this competition is difficult for us as we have not had much time to prepare.
“Our team should have trained much more but as for the ability of the players, this match was a good performance. But compared to the other teams, I think my team should be more prepared.”
However, DPR Korea did suffer a setback as Choe revealed Ho was replaced midway through the first-half after the midfielder dislocated her elbow and it’s unclear as to whether the midfielder will be able to play any further part in the tournament.
Despite the one-sided nature of both the game and the score line, Thailand coach Varasak Upathumnarakorn felt his side were guilty of making life too easy for their opponents.
“We lost by that score line because of our mistakes,” he said. “We gave away three goals.
“Thailand have less technical experience than Korea but I think the team will be better in second match.”
But Varasak was in the most part pleased with the way his side held out before eventually succumbing to superior opposition.
“I was impressed with our defence and we had a chance to score but we couldn't take it.”
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