Korea beat Kyrgyzstan 5-1 to reach Asian Games quarterfinals

The Korean U-24 football team beat Kyrgyzstan 5-1 in the round of 16 to advance to the quarterfinals at the Hangzhou Asian Games on Wednesday.

Korean captain Paik Seung-ho takes a penalty to open the scoring in a round of 16 match between Korea and Kyrgyzstan at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China on Wednesday. [YONHAP]

The Korean U-24 football team beat Kyrgyzstan 5-1 in the round of 16 to advance to the quarterfinals at the Hangzhou Asian Games on Wednesday.

It was a fairly up-and-down game for the young Taeguk Warriors despite the score line, with penalties kickstarting the action in both halves and making up for some sluggish play in the midfield.

Korea got on the scoreboard earlier with a Paik Seung-ho penalty in the 11th minute, followed just seconds later by a Jeong Woo-yeong effort to push the score to 2-0.

Apparently happy with that lead, Korea sat back and quickly lost the momentum — although Lee Kang-in did score what appeared to be another goal before a questionable offside ruling — allowing Kyrgyzstan to break through a number of times with Maksat Alygulov eventually scoring in the 28th minute to end the half at 2-1 to Korea.

Kyrgyzstan continued to threaten at the top of the second half, and it wasn’t until a Jeong penalty in the 74th minute opened the flood gates that the young Taeguk Warriors really piled on with goals from Cho Young-wook and Hong Hyun-seok in the following 10 minutes.

Those goals combined for a big five one win for Korea and a ticket to the quarterfinals, where the defending champions are set to face hosts China.

Korea arrived in the round of 16 after cruising through the group stage with three straight wins and a combined 16 goals scored, by far the most of any team in the tournament.

The young Taeguk Warriors are aiming for a third successive Asiad gold medal this year, which would give the players an exemption from mandatory military service that could otherwise interfere with their careers.

Korea and China are set to face off in the quarterfinals at 8 p.m. on Sunday in Hangzhou, or 9 p.m. in Korea.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]