THA 0-5 KOR: Choi joy at second-half show

UHAN - Korea Republic boss Choi In-cheul hailed his side's second-half show as they outclassed Thailand 5-0 to book a semi-final place in the AFC U19 Women's Championship.

Kang In-hee had put the Koreans in front after 16 minutes but despite enjoying plenty of possession and a territorial advantage they were unable to add to their lead before half-time at Hankou Sports Culture Stadium.

However, a brace from Ji So-yun (pictured) along with goals from Park Hee-young and Kim Jin-young secured a second consecutive Group A victory and a place in the last four.

And Choi was pleased with his side's improvement after the break.

“We started quite slowly but in the second-half, the players followed our tactics and we were also well prepared, so we could win the match,” he said.

“I didn't say anything special at half-time but in the first-half, our players couldn't follow the game plan but in the second-half, they did very well.”

Korea's second goal three minutes after the interval came courtesy of an exquisite move that culminated in a beautiful back-heel from Lee Min-sun which allowed Ji the time and space to calmly side-foot into the corner of the net from close range.

Choi underlined he was particularly pleased with the way his side knocked the ball around.

“The way we attacked down both flanks was good and so was the interplay that we saw,” he added.

Thailand were again outclassed having been beaten 4-0 by DPRK Korea in their opening game.

Coach Varasak Upathumnarakorn conceded his side's inexperience had counted against them and that they ran out of steam in the second 45 minutes, but was also left unimpressed by the performance of the Japanese referee.

“This is the first time that this squad has been to a big tournament so the players and the staff are gaining experience,” he said.

“But the referee, she could not control the game and this was a source of regret for the players.

“Our players did not have a great understanding because we had little time to prepare and we had injury problems but it is still a good opportunity for them.

“The big problem for our team is their fitness and strength but when we attacked, the referee did not protect anyone so in my mind this is the first problem.”

Varasak also explained the reasoning by his early substitution of defender Uraiwan Mata.

“She started at sweeper because we wanted to nullify the Korean forwards but she is too slow so Sunisha Pancha played there and we sent on Sailom Pittayanukulsup in midfield,” he added.






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