Tue, 30 Nov, -0001
Kathmandu: AFC Challenge Cup winning coach Yun Jong-su paid tribute to the local fans that supported his team throughout their dramatic 2-1 victory over Turkmenistan in the final of the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup.
Despite the tournament hosts crashing out of the competition at the Group Stage an impressive number of fans showed up to watch the drama at the Dashrath unfold in Monday's thrilling climax to the tournament.
And the overwhelming majority of the 9000 spectators had chosen to back the defending champions and their spirited support didn't go unnoticed in the DPR Korea dugout.
"It was a great pleasure for us to get the support from the people of Nepal and I would like to thank them for supporting my players," said Yun, who was celebrating winning his second piece of AFC silverware having led DPR Korea to glory at the 2010 AFC U-19 Championship.
But the defending champions and their Nepali supporters were left stunned just two minutes into the final when Turkmenistan skipper Berdy Shamuradov opened the scoring with barely 120 seconds of an intriguing encounter at the Dashrath Stadium played.
"I wasn't concerned about the early goal because we had plenty of time to get the equaliser and then we had enough time for the winner, whether it would come in the second-half or in extra-time as we dominated the match," Yun recalled.
Jong Il-gwan headed the defending champions level in the 35th minute and they dominated the match until the 83rd minute when Shamuradov had a chance to seal it for the Turkmen.
But nerves got the better of him and just two minutes later Jang Song-hyok, who had given away the penalty, netted the winner for the North Koreans.
It was a nail-bitting climax to an entertaining tournament and while the fans were on the edge of their seats the ice-cool Korean coach was unmoved by the drama.
"I wasn't nervous during the penalties and I was always confident my player would score."