Korea off to good start with win over Uzbek
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Moon Chang-jin celebrates after scoring a goal during the AFC U23 championships Group C match between Korea and Uzbekistan at Suhaim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha, Thursday. Korea won 2-1. / Yonhap
By John Duerden
South Korea got off to a flying start at the Asian U23 championships in the early hours of Thursday morning (Seoul time) by defeating Uzbekistan 2-1 in the opening game of Group C.
Moon Chang-jin of Pohang Steelers got a goal in each half thanks to an assist from the impressive Hwang Hee-chan, a former team-mate at the storied K-League club.
Korea received a helping hand from the referee after 20 minutes. Hwang Hee-chan ran down the left, beat one defender at the byline, tried to chip the ball over the sliding Otabek Shukurov only for the referee to point to the spot for handball. It actually hit the Uzbek chest though Moon didn't care as he coolly converted the penalty past Abdumavlon Abduljalilov.
Prior to that, Uzbekistan had been on top, just, though Jeon Si-guk had the first chance of the game shooting straight at the goalkeeper from a good position. Their pressing had unsettled Shin Tae-yong's men and the midfield diamond was unable to get into the game and lacked fluency when it did.
The goal settled the Taeguk Warriors down though soon after goalkeeper Kim Dong-jun had to rush off his line to make a vital save after defender Yeon Je-min misjudged a header to send it straight into the path of Igor Sergeev.
As the half progressed, Korea improved and started to cause Uzbekistan problems down the left side as Hwang continued to show why he is so highly thought of in his homeland at Red Bull Salzburg where he plays his club football. Ryu Seung-woo of Bayer Leverkusen was also causing problems and the team's movement grew in fluency.
The first half ended with Lee Chang-min shooting over the bar from outside the area with Abduljalilov nowhere to be seen.
The second half started where the first left off. Within seconds of the restart Hwang broke free down the left side and his low cross evaded everyone in the six yard box only for Moon, arriving late, to side foot high into the next from a tight angle. It was a slick move and a fine finish and this time, there was no assistance from the referee.
It was starting to look and feel comfortable but then suddenly, Uzbekistan was back in the game with a goal from nowhere. Young Asian Player of the Year in 2015 Dostonbek Khamdamov started 2016 pretty well. He was given a little too much space outside the area but then nobody was expecting a fierce low shot from around 25 meters out that flew past Kim into the far corner of the goal.
It energized the Central Asians who then started to attack with belief, forcing the men in red back. It was the kind of test that will stand the players in good stead for the rest of the tournament though it was made a little easier 15 minutes from the end as Uzbekistan was reduced to ten men as defender Jamshid Boltaboev was ejected for a dangerous tackle. There was little else of note as Shin Tae-yong's men took a solid three points.
Korea can play better and given this is the first game of the tournament, probably will. Next comes Yemen, who lost 2-0 to defending champion Iraq, on Saturday evening when a win may be enough to put the 2012 Olympic bronze medalists into the quarterfinals.