The Korea Republic delivered a dominant showing at the Lion City Cup, stamping their mark on matchday one (8 July) of the inaugural U16 girls’ competition.
Hat-trick hero Cho An fired the Koreans to a 9-0 triumph over hosts Singapore in the day’s second match at the Jalan Besar Stadium, while in the opening match that kicked off earlier in the day at 5pm, substitute midfielder Sophia Chua’s brace powered Hong Kong, China to a commanding 4-0 victory against Cambodia.
Singapore Girls’ Head Coach Yeong Sheau Shyan was proud of the determination the team showed despite the scoreline.
“We came into this match prepared for a tough opponent, but the girls were ready to fight, and I think they did their best,” she said. “We found it hard to manage the pace at the start, but gradually we were able to keep up.”
Yeong also reserved praise for custodian Chantale Lamasan, who stood tall in goal, pulling a handful of key saves amidst the barrage of Korean attacks.
“Chantale is one of our most talented young goalkeepers in Singapore. She put up an impressive performance today for a girl her age. We are happy she is progressing at this level,” Yeong said.
“To play Korea in our first match gives us a good idea of how hard we have to work. It’s good that the girls are still very motivated. It’s heartening to see that they are still raring to go for the next match.”
Korea coach Kim Eunjung was also impressed by the hosts’ fighting spirit.
“Despite the lopsided scoreline, the Singapore players did not get affected mentally, and they kept playing their best to the end. Having a strong mentality like that is a positive point for women’s football in Singapore,” Kim said.
Midfielder Jeon Haeun drew first blood in the 11th minute when her shot trickled past Chantale. They doubled their advantage through Ko Jieun, who picked out the bottom right corner just beyond the keeper’s grasp.
Striker Cho An struck twice on either side of a goal from defender Park Nayoung to give South Korea a 5-0 lead at halftime.
An completed her hat-trick three minutes after the restart, before substitute Kim Hee Jin added a brace and Son Seohyeon capped the rout with a stoppage-time goal.
“I didn’t expect to score three goals today, but my teammates helped me a lot. It was a good experience,” An said.
“Sometimes it is hard for me to understand the team tactics, but coach (Kim) has helped to explain the tactics to me a lot, and I am pleased to be able to deliver.”
Singapore had a counter-attacking opportunity late in the game when forward Ain Salleh, who trains with Madrid CFF’s youth team in Spain under the Unleash the Roar! (UTR!) scholarship, was released down the left wing. Her long-range attempt was met by vociferous cheers from the home crowd.
“We didn’t expect so many people, and we are really happy to see our home fans come down. The girls appreciate it a lot,” Yeong said.
With a clash against Hong Kong on Thursday (10 July), Yeong was eager for her team to showcase their quality.
“We are going to try our best to keep better possession. And we want to move off better after we win the ball. We want to improve on our attacking transitions and our defending in the midfield,” Yeong added.
Hong Kong coach Chan Shuk Chi, who was in the stands to analyse the hosts’ performance, hailed her charges’ “team spirit” as key to their opening victory against Cambodia.
“It’s a good start. We are happy to have this result,” Chan said.
“All the players played well in the match. Both teams played hard. And in this weather, I think the players were impressive in the second half,” she explained, adding that the players did well to read the game throughout the match.
Hong Kong dictated the early tempo, pinning Cambodia deep inside their half. The first real chance fell to captain Jaylynn Chong in the second minute, when her powerful strike from the edge of the box crashed against the crossbar.
Redemption came shortly after when midfielder Fung Ting Yin was hacked down in the box by the Cambodian defence. Jaylynn stepped up and calmly rifled the resulting penalty into the top left corner, past goalkeeper Khann Sokhim.
Hong Kong extended their lead in the 58th minute as substitute Sophia Chua finished off a well-worked move with a simple tap-in.
Wong Tsz Yiu added a third in the 76th minute, squeezing a low shot inside the near post, before Sophia sealed the victory just three minutes later with her second of the match.
Sophia, awarded player-of-the-match honours after the final whistle, was grateful to get the opening win.
“We’ve been training a lot. And I really see our chemistry today. I really love our team spirit and how we work so well together. But I also want to say that we still have two matches and we’ll be looking forward to playing that,” the 14-year-old said.
Cambodia coach Ouk Sothy described the afternoon encounter as a “really tough game”, but noted that the match was a good learning opportunity for his players.
“Today, we tried our best. In the first half, we stuck to our plan. We tried to defend and create good counterattacks,” Ouk said, adding that he hoped to give each of his players exposure and playing time throughout the tournament.
Looking forward to their next match against Korea on Thursday, Ouk’s focus is to give his players ample recovery and rest.
Day two of the Lion City Cup will see the U16 boys competition get underway – with Hong Kong taking on Cambodia at 5pm, while the hosts play the Philippines at 8pm.
Tickets are available from Ticketek and at the ticket booth at the North Gate of the Jalan Besar Stadium on matchdays.
