The Korean U-19 side competing in the 2010 AFC U-19 Championship in Zibo, China were able to avenge the senior team’s loss to Iran last month.
On the 4th, Lee Kwang-jong‘s U-19 side defeated Iran 2-0 in the group’s first match at the Linzi Stadium. With goals from star striker Ji Dong-won (Chunnam) and Jung Seung-yong (Seoul) the Korean side put themselves in a comfortable position to advance from the otherwise difficult group.
The Koreans started the match slowly, allowing the Iranians to attack and almost conceded in the starting minutes of the game. However, the Koreans looked more likely to score with their 67% ball possession. In the 39th minute of the game, Ji Dong-won received the ball in front of the box and executed a turning shot that deflected from the post into the goal.
The team continued to attack in the second half and were rewarded with a goal in the early minutes. In the 54th minute, Kim Young-wook‘s (Chunnam) cross from the left was met by Jung Seung-yong‘s stretched foot to put Korea up two goals.
The Korean side continued to look dangerous and threatened to score but the defense faced a few scares. The team almost conceded a goal when goalkeeper No Dong-geon (Korea Univ) dropped the ball for Iran right in front of goal. Despite all this, Korea kept control of the game and held the lead as Iran failed to score.
The Korean U-19 will play its second match on Oct 6th against Yemen at the Linzi Stadium.
View the goals below:
