Head coach Lee Kwang-jong praised the performance of hat-trick hero Lee Jong-ho as Korea Republic hammered Indonesia 9-0.TASHKENT – Coach Lee Kwang-jong hailed the impact of hat-trick hero Lee Jong-ho after Korea Republic took a step towards the quarter-finals of the AFC U-16 Championship with an emphatic 9-0 win over Indonesia.
Korea, like in their opening day 5-2 success over India, completely dominated the contest and left a young Indonesia side shell-shocked with their direct, physical attacking style.
“All our players are very important to our team, not just one player. But Jong-ho had a very good game as he scored three goals,” said the Korea coach.
“He is capable of scoring and that is why we play him in a central striking position, but we can also use him out wide and he is well prepared to do that. He is very important for us and hopefully we can utilise him in the coming matches.”
Lee Dong-nyck’s header and Kim Jin-su’s curling strike handed Korea a 2-0 lead after just five minutes before a header from captain Rim Chang-woo, his second of the tournament, from Lee Jong-ho’s delivery added to the lead.
Lee Jong-ho headed home a fourth before the break and, following a less explosive start to the second half, Son Heung-min scored twice from the edge of the area in a 10 minute spell after the hour mark to increase the lead.
And with the clocking running down and Indonesia tiring after two games in three days, Lee Jong-ho rounded off a swift Korea counterattack with 10 minutes remaining for his second and, after substitute Kim Dong-min poked home from close range with four minutes remaining, completed his hat-trick with a stoppage time header.
Coach Lee added: “Our opponents were a lot weaker than us, but it is still a satisfying performance.”
While admitting Indonesia’s second defeat of the tournament was “embarrassing,” coach Mundari Karya believes the experience can have a positive affect on his young team.
“The Koreans were very physical and at the start of the match we failed to defend at set pieces and they scored several similar goals as they are much taller and a lot more physical,” he said.
“We lack experience at this level so this is a good opportunity to make progress. Korea were a very strong team and have a lot of quality. We hope to learn from this match.
“These are young players and it is not all about winning, we must try and keep the spirit in our team.”
Source:The AFC.com
