AYG Football: South Korea blitz Laos 8-1

Story by Gerald Goh/Red Sports. Pictures by Vanessa Lim/Red Sports.

Jalan Besar Stadium, Sunday, June 28, 2009 - South Korea romped to an emphatic 8-1 win over the Lao People's Democratic Republic in their Group B opener of the Asian Youth Games football final round.

The Koreans recorded eight different goal scorers, some of whom came off the bench.

Laos simply had no answer for the individual flair, athleticism and superior one-touch football of the Koreans as right from the starting whistle, Korea's finesse and pressing strategy was apparent.

A nervy opening period meant that both sides had their chances, with Korea's Kim Sunbin forcing an acrobatic save from Laos' goalkeeper Soukthavy Soundala.

On the other end, Laos' Sourideth Kemnouanta found himself on the end of an exquisite through-pass. His shot was spilled by Korean custodian Lee Seongwon before it was eventually scrambled away.

Korea did, however, quickly take an iron grip on the game, with Suh Myeongwon directing a free-kick into the top left corner of the net after Lee Wooseok had dummied over the dead-ball for a 1-0 lead.

With the announcement of the first goal still reverberating through the stadium, Korea's Joeng Chunggeun charged into the box, shrugging off his two markers before scoring Korea's second.

Shim Je-hyeok added a third in the 18th minute, as a defender's stumble meant he had time to make amendments after his initial mis-hit.

The game was over as a meaningful contest by the time Choi Jaehun smashed home Kim Sunbin's cross in the 21st minute to make it 4-0.

Laos’ Souksavanh Somsanith then had a chance to beat Lee Seongwon but he directed his header narrowly wide, but his defensive teammates saw more action, putting in some stout defending to keep the scoreline down in a 30-second flurry of Korean attacks.

Korea’s Suh Myeongwon was then taken out by Soukthavy in the penalty area, and the Korean got up to send the keeper the wrong way with the ensuing penalty. After being ordered to retake his spot-kick, Myeongwon again sent his shot the same way, leaving the keeper rooted to the ground for a 5-0 lead.

Goal six duly arrived in the 39th minute courtesy of Kim Sunbin, who glanced a header past the hapless Soukthavy as the Koreans returned to the changing room with a 6-0 advantage.

The second half saw the Koreans continuing to toy with the Laotians.

Kim Gunhee latched onto the ball after his overlapping run and rounded Soukthavy to slot into an empty net to make it seven to the good.

Determined not to leave empty-handed, Laotian winger Lembo Saysana made a marauding run from his own half. His doggedness earned his side a corner and he dutifully stabbed home the ball in a goalmouth frenzy to leave his side in jubilation and him pointing to the skies.

Korea made sure they had the final say with Jeong Haneul's cross completely missed by the Laotian defence and Soel Taesu was presented with an easy tap-in to make it 8-1.

Korean team manager Cho Junhee was circumspect about his team's performance. He said, "We finished the game in 15 minutes, so that afterwards we could play the game, practice our passing."

He added that Iran, Saudi Arabia and China were Korea's biggest worries in the competition.

Laos team manager Alex Tuan Tran admitted that his team could not compete with Korea and opted instead to pack the defence.

On his team's solitary goal, he said, "We practiced our own set-play, and it came off well.”