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DPR Korea beats Myanmar by solitary goal

Abhijit Sen Gupta

HYDERABAD: DPR Korea defeated Myanmar by a solitary goal to top Pool B in the AFC Challenge Cup football tournament here on Monday. Both teams qualified for the semifinals.

Myanmar, which dominated the proceedings for most part of the match, created several good openings but was unlucky. The ground conditions were again quite slippery, making ball-control difficult.

There was no shot at the goal from either side in the first quarter and the action was confined to midfield.

Nice move

The only goal of the match came after a breakaway move by Korea down the centre. Yun Yong Il gave the ball to So Kwang Chol, who passed it on to Ro Hak Su who was positioned at the top left corner of the box. The latter had little difficulty in slotting the ball home past a hapless goalkeeper to give Korea the lead.

Stung by the reverse, Myanmar fought back using a combination of short and long passes. Myanmar’s first noteworthy crack at the Korean goal came when Myo Mi Un went charging up the left flank and then cut in diagonally before sending a power packed shot towards the target. But Korean goalie Kwang Min Ju brought off a good save, leaping high to fist the ball away in time.

A little later, Myanmar almost scored. Tun Tun Win put the ball into the net with a neat header but the goal was disallowed for a foul. But that did not deter Myanmar from attacking. Just before the break, Tun Tun Win’s powerful 40-yard shot rattled the crosspiece before going out. Later, the Korean goalie brought off another good save when he deflected a shot by See Myat Min.

After change of ends, it was the same story for the luckless Myanmar. However in the second session, Korea came up with some good moves. So Kang Chol came close to scoring and late in the match Kim Yong Il’s shot banged into the crosspiece before going out. Tuesday and Wednesday will be rest days. The semifinals featuring India against Myanmar and Tajikistan against Korea will be played on Thursday.

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