The South Korean national women’s football team refused to yield to the Philippine Malditas and won’t even let them comfortable with their defense.
Scoring two early goals in the first half, the Koreans stepped on the gas immediately with their offense and came away with a 2-0 triumph Thursday in the 2022 AFC Women’s Asian Cup at the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune, India.
The two goals scored by Cho So-Hyun and Son Hwa Yeon in the 24th and 34th minutes sent the Koreans into their first Women’s Asian Cup championship stint, following their fifth-place finish back in the 2018. They had a total of five attempts to do so since 1995.
Cho scored on a header from the center of the box to the bottom left corner, with the ball sailing over the head of goalkeeper Olivia McDaniel.
Her chance to score came after Kim Hye-Ri went in from the left side and flicked in a cross pass.
“It was a very tough match. Korea is the better team. They built the pressure early and it was disappointing. We had no chances in the first half and had our 5 or 6 chances in the second half. But the best part of today is that after playing for 120 minutes the other night, they fought to the death.
Amazing heart and courage of the girls. I’m proud of them,” said Malditas coach Alen Stajcic.
o blasted in from close range to the bottom left corner, following an assist from Choo Hyo Joo, who pressed from the right flank.
Still high on their World Cup berth-clinching 2-1 quarterfinal win over Chinese Taipei, the Malditas spent the last half in keeping the Koreans from penetrating their defense.
Malditas’ goalie Olivia McDaniel, who got raves over her heroics in their historic Chinese Taipei victory, got busy after the 60th minute as the Koreans pressed on with their attacks.
“Very happy to play in the finals. Great achievement for the players,” said the Koreans’ British coach Colin Bell, adding that the team had difficulty focusing and doing what they needed to do in the second half.
Bell admitted that the Malditas still made matters difficult for them in the second half.
“There’s still something that needs to be improved from today’s match. We were put in a situation, where the players where on edge in the second half. There were massive opportunities. But they were not able to concentrate,” added Bell.
Olivia, whose sister Chandler McDaniel was escorted out in the 57th minutes due to an injury, managed to deflect at least four attempts by the Koreans.
The younger Chandler, one of the key scorers of the team, played for only eight minutes, after hurting her left knee following a scuffle with Shim Seo Yeon.
The Koreans, who will face the winner of the game between China and Japan in the finals on Sunday, managed to find ways to penetrate the Philippines’ backline in the remaining time, but they were not able to capitalize on their chances.
