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Azkals fall to South Korea to open AFC U23 qualifiers

By Kevin Estrada

The Philippines went toe-to-toe with South Korea in the first half before the latter broke away for a comprehensive 3-0 win in the AFC U23 Asian Cup qualifiers Monday evening at the Jalan Besar Stadium in Singapore.
Scott Cooper’s Young Azkals gave the holders fits with their compact defending in the opening 45 minutes, but the holders proved too much to handle in their Group H opener.
Managed by World Cup veteran Hwang Sun-Hong, South Korea’s depth proved to be the difference despite a fruitless first half, with Choi Geon-ju’s 36th-minute tap-in being ruled out for offside.

photo: Darshan Mehta


That all changed in the second half, with their timely changes at the break proved to be the telling factor.
Lee Kyu-Hyuk put the young Taeguk Warriors ahead with a sliding header past Kammeraad in the 51st minute, thanks to the right foot of winger Go Jae-hyon.
The roles were reversed 21 minutes later, with the unmarked Go finally tapped in from close range after being picked out by the left-back Lee.
Substitute Park Jeong-in put the final touches with a free header off a Seo Jin-su cross a minute before the final whistle.


South Korea U23: Lee GY (GK), Choi Jun, Lee KY, Lee SM, Kim JS, Kwon, Choi GJ (Seo 46’), Goo BC (C) (Park JI 46′), Cho SJ (Lee DR 71’), Kim Chan (Oh 46’), Go JH (Kang YG 84′)
Philippines U23: Kammeraad (GK), Baas, Perez, Mendoza (Kekkonen 33′), Rontini, Winhoffer, Reyes (Hayes 53′), Bias , Gallantes (Borlongan 76′), Fagerlie-Ignacio (Chung 53′), Rasmussen
Referee: Yudai Yamamoto (Japan)

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