AYG Football: Disciplined North Korea stun Iran 1-0 in semi-finals

Story by Gerald Goh and Julian Low/Red Sports. Pictures by Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports

Jalan Besar Stadium, Saturday, July 4, 2009 - A commendable rearguard action by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea was enough to dump the Islamic Republic of Iran out of the AYG football tournament, courtesy of a 73rd minute winner by Korean captain Ryo Yu Song which was enough to decide the semi-final match.

Iran spent long periods of the match encamped in the Korean half, but had nothing to show for their dominance as North Korea weathered the Iranian onslaught.

Under a sweltering mid-afternoon sun, Iranian captain Bahman Jahantigh demonstrated his side's attacking intentions when he glided past his marker on the right flank and presented the ball to Siavash Haghnazari, whose toe-poke wide was much too casual after a defender's stumble had left him free.

A series of deft touches between Bahman and Omid Tavakoli then required Korean ´keeper Kwon Kum Chol to rush out to smother the danger, as Iran struggled to find their rhythm and a way past the North Korean defence.

Iran's first real chance came in the 25th minute, as Armin Sohrabian's swerving cross whizzed just in front of Siavash's head. Bahman then fashioned Iran's next chance, picking out Milad Sarlak Chiva who dummied over it for Mohammad Mamashli to shoot straight into Kwon's hands.

Korea's Kim Kwang Jin's powerful surge forward in the 31st minute saw his piledriver well saved by Meisam Labbaf, with the Iranian shot-stopper having to tip Ri Jong Hyok's follow-up over the line. Meisam was not impressed with his defenders' efforts, as he screamed animatedly at them for their defensive lapse.

Kim Chong Il's defence-splitting pass in first-half stoppage time found Ri free in the box, but the Korean forward slammed the ball narrowly wide when he should have buried it.

Ri began Korea's second-half efforts with a nice dribble that found its way to Ro, but the captain's lob went woefully wide. Iran's insistence on advancing through the middle meant that their multitude of attacks were bogged down by amassed Korean bodies.

Iran's continual wastefulness in front of goal came back to haunt them in the 73rd minute, as North Korea scored after a series of workmanlike passes. Jo Sol Song backheeled to Kim Chong Il, who then knocked it out to substitute Ryo Yu Song to fire home emphatically. Ryo was then promptly buried under his jubilant teammates as the ecstatic North Korean team celebrated a crucial goal.

As North Korea smelt a berth in the final, Ryo let slip a golden opportunity to seal the match as his shot from Jo's nice slip-through went off the post.

With nothing to lose, Iran poured men forward but were unable to really threaten as the North Korean defence held firm. North Korea will now face their cross-border countrymen, South Korea, in the final on Monday.

Iranian coach Mohammad Yavari felt his side put in a much better performance than the North Koreans, but conceded that they took the one chance they had. "It's allowed in football. We were better than our opponents, but (it's) not every time we can score."

Yavari continued, "North Korea played very compactly, they had seven to eight players in defence all the time so it was very easy to attack. Maybe it was a mistake to attack because there was no finishing.”

The Iranian coach also felt that his two central midfielders lacked concentration, and defended his decision not to bring on his more offensive players. "We held back our substitutions because it might go to penalty kicks, so we had provision for substitutes. If we had scored in the 26th minute, the result might have been different. We tried to win until we had no chance left." he concluded.

Iranian captain Bahman Jahantigh was pensive after the final whistle: "The coach said we have not done our duty.” When asked to rate his contribution, he replied, "My performance was not really bad, only (that) we could not score.”

North Korean coach Paek Kil Song revealed his high ambitions for this tournament. "Before we arrived in Singapore, we had a goal for the team. Throughout these matches, we have estimated all the countries' levels (of performance). We expect to win the gold."

Paek also stated that customary captain Ryo Yu Song was rested to keep him fresh for the final. "We knew the Iranian attack is very strong, so we chose a strong defensive tactic. We relied on our strikers' speed (for counter-attacking), and our strong defence won the match," Paek continued.

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