Sharjah, Feb 26 The Indian senior women’s team went down to South 0-3 in their concluding Pink Ladies Cup at the Al Hamriya Sports Club Stadium on Wednesday.
The Koreans, placed 20th in the FIFA rankings, led 2-0 at halftime. While Choi Yoojung and Choi Dagyeong put Korea in the lead in the first half, Mun Eunju rounded off the tally in the 81st minute.
In the Pink Ladies Cup, India played three matches, winning the opener against Jordan, before going down to Russia and Korea.
As expected, the Koreans proved to be a team too hot to handle and camped themselves in the Indian half right from the word go. Credit to Crispin Chettri’s girls for closing the gaps early. It took the sting out of Korean attacks to some extent, but it wasn’t enough to keep their rivals at bay for a long time.
Relentless pressure forced the Indian defenders to commit a few infringements near their area and one of them resulted in the first goal in the eighth minute. Choi Yoojung and skipper Lee Youngju were the livewires of the Korean attacks and the former struck the first blow.
The direct free kick Indian conceded was on the edge of the box with a clear view of the frame. Choi Yoojung hammered the free kick brilliantly, providing the right trajectory that made the ball find the net with a smoothness for which Shreya Hooda had no answer.
Overall, Shreya was an alert customer, always on her toes as she had to negotiate with too many onslaughts from all angles. She did her job well, including saving a penalty in the 66th minute, but she could do little when Choi Dagyeong scored the second goal in the 27th minute.
The Indian defenders allowed the ball to stay in the Indian box for too long and paid the penalty. Dagyeong tapped the ball in from an almost handshaking distance.
The Indian attacks were far and few. In the first half, the only time the Korean goalkeeper was tested was when she collected a Lynda Kom hopeful shot with a rather casual approach. India earned a few corners, though none of them produced anything fruitful.
In the second half, India looked better organised and took the ball to the other side more often than before. Their attempts to use the wings were commendable at times but were blocked by the Korean defenders.
On the other end, the Koreans found Indian defenders a tough nut to crack, though Mun Eunju managed to increase the margin in the 81st minute.
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