Tue, 30 Nov, -0001
Muscat: Defender Rim Chang-woo scored at either end in the first half as Korea Republic began their AFC U-22 Championship campaign with a 1-1 draw against Jordan at Royal Oman Police Stadium on Saturday.
Centre-back Rim turned Ahmad Saleh’s shot into his own net 31 minutes into the Group A opener only to make amends a minute before half-time.
Korea Republic continue their AFC U-22 Championship campaign against Myanmar on Monday, while Jordan face tournament hosts Oman.
“I am satisfied with the result. Physically the players were not good, but the second half was much better than the first so I believe the players are going to get better and I am sure they will perform better in the next match,” said Korea coach Lee Kwang-jong.
“In first half we didn’t show our full performance but as we improved in second half we feel we are going to get much better. We are not worried about not scoring a lot of goals.”
Korea enjoyed strong possession at the start of the contest but it was Jordan who should have taken the lead after 15 minutes as Hamza Al Daradreh charged unchallenged through the heart of Korean defence, but after evading the dive of goalkeeper Jo Hyeon-woo, the off-balance midfielder saw his weak shot cleared off the goalline.
But Jordan did not have to wait too long to open the scoring as Saleh’s shot across the face of goal was turned into his own net by Rim 14 minutes before half-time.
Al Daradreh then came close to adding a second five minutes before half-time as the midfielder dispossessed Lee Ki-je close to the halfway line only to shot straight at Jo with the goal at his mercy after charging into the penalty area.
And a minute before half-time Korea took full advantage as Rim made amends for his earlier error as Jordan failed to fully clear a left wing corner and the defender’s header eventually found its way across the line.
Korea’s dominance in possession continued into the second half, but it was Jordan who again came closest to opening the scoring six minutes after the hour mark as Oday Zahran’s low shot from 35 yards was smartly pushed around the post by Jo.
The Koreans finished strongly but Jordan’s resolute defence stood in the closing stages to earn a well-deserved share of the spoils.
“I thank all my players who made a great effort. A draw against a team who wants to win the title and who have good players with good experience is a good result,” said Jordan coach Islam Al Diabat.
“Also my team has only trained once with a full squad as many of my players joined late after playing at the WAFF Championship.
“We have played two tough tournaments in a short space of time before coming to Oman so I did not press as I was afraid of the physical side.”