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09 November 2017

South Korea beat Malaysia 3-0 in Paju to top Group F and qualify for 2018 AFC Under-19 Championship







KUALA LUMPUR: National youth coach Bojan Hodak admitted that South Korea are a far more accomplished team technically as the hosts swatted Malaysia aside 3-0 in Paju on Wednesday to qualify for the 2018 AFC Under-19 Championship.
Korea ended the qualifying campaign top of Group F with the maximum 12 points and without conceding a goal in four matches while Malaysia finished second on nine points.
Whether Malaysia will be among the 16 teams competing in Indonesia next year will only be known after all 10 qualifying groups are over with the five best runners-up joining the pool winners at the finals.
Hodak said he was satisfied with Malaysia's performance in all four matches, including the defeat to Korea, who he described as one of the best youth teams in Asia.
"It was a good game and we did not park the bus as some might have expected," said Hodak after the match.
"They were technically better with good ball control although we also had three good chances to score.
"They scored three quality goals but neither team could play at the same high tempo in the second half as they did in the first due to the fact that this was the fourth match for both teams."
Hadi Fayyadh Razak, one of the few Malaysians able to match the towering Korean players, steered wide in the fifth minute from close range with Malaysia's best chance of the match.
Malaysia were punished for that miss when Um Won Sang used his height advantage to leap over left-back Ahmad Tasnim Fitri to head in the opener in the 11th minute.
After an attempt by captain Syaiful Alias to dribble around Korean goalkeeper Hwang Tae Hyeon failed, Kim Jung Min took a return pass from Lim Jae Hyuk to sneak behind the Malaysian defence and slot past Azri Ghani in the 38th minute.
Cho Young Wook, who also hit the post late in the game, won and converted a penalty on the stroke of half-time after A. Shivan Pillay tripped the striker.
"Running wise the two teams were about the same and though Korea were stronger physically, the biggest difference was their technical ability," said Hodak.
"The way they pass and control the ball and their movement without the ball is what helped them to be better and accurate.
"But we managed to challenge them well and overall I am satisfied with the team's performance although there is always room for improvement.
"It was good exposure and now we wait to see if we have qualified for the finals,” he added
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