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By Jeremiah Ong
The Lionesses made their Asiad debut against powerhouses North Korea in their first pool match at the Wenzhou Sports Centre Stadium on Sunday (Sep 24) evening, succumbing to a 7-0 defeat.
The Lionesses made their debut at the Wenzhou Sports Centre Stadium on Sunday evening. (Photo: SportSG/ Jeremy Lee)
With an average age of 22.4 years, the young squad fought valiantly against favoured opposition. They also sorely missed the likes of Nur Izzati Rosni and Dortmund women's team forward Danelle Tan who were unable to attend the Games.
Their opponents, who are currently unranked having played their last international fixture in 2019, were previously 10th in 2022.
Despite the heavy loss, Lionesses coach Karim Bencherifa was immensely proud of his charges.
“For us, we are in a phase of transition after our SEA Games,” the Moroccan said.
“I'm very, very proud of the greatness of my players and the way they handled themselves throughout the 90-minute.”
On his opponents, Bencherifa added:“ We knew what to expect. I think this group, the dynamic, changed completely with the pulling out of Cambodia, which made it very tough for us to play. I think we are taking on the strongest team in this tournament.”
The east Asian nation set up camp in the Lionesses’ half for most of the match, launching wave after wave of attacks.
Goalkeeper Noor Kusumawati Mohammad was kept busy tending the goal and made a few credible saves to put up some resistance against the three-time Asiad champions.
Goalkeeper Kusumawati is set to retire from international football after the Asiad. (Photo: SportSG/ Jeremy Lee)
Kusumawati’s best effort came in the dying minutes of the game. Opposition forward Sung Hyangsim threaded a ball through into the darting run of fellow substitute Ri Sujong who attempted a low finish but Kusumawati was quick off her line to close it down.
However, the 1.61m custodian struggled to keep the headed attempts out with five of North Korea’s goals coming off a player’s head.
Bencherifa said: “I think we did well tactically in our defensive organisation. We did not allow shots from outside the box. The difference if you analyse most of the goals, two goals from corners, so most of the goals are due to the height, to the strength in the air on the North Korea teams.”
Defender and captain Siti Rosnani Azman was kept busy in defence by North Korean opposition. (Photo: SportSG/ Jeremy Lee)
The match marked North Korea's first return at a major multi-sport event since the previous edition of the Asian Games where they finished sixth.
The top teams and the three best second-placed sides from the five groups will qualify for the quarter-finals. Group C is the only one with two teams, with the rest having either three or four.
The Lionesses will play the reverse fixture three days later at the same venue for their final match of the group stages.
The 19th Asian Games are held in Hangzhou, China from 23 September to 8 October 2023. For the latest Team Singapore coverage and news, follow Team Singapore on their social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok) or visit the official Team Singapore website.
