North Korea have continued to stake their claim as genuine Women’s Asian Cup contenders after rolling to a 5-0 win over an overmatched Bangladesh.
Finding the net three times across a dominant opening half in western Sydney on Friday, only for the goals to be disallowed, the North Koreans eventually made one of their attempts count in the fifth minute of added time when Yu-Jong Myong converted from the spot, before doubling the lead two minutes later through Kyong-Yong Kim.
Maintaining their up-tempo pressure in the second stanza, a calamity of errors from the Bangladeshi defence allowed Un-Yong Chae to smash home from close range in the 62nd minute, with Kim securing her brace by rifling a shot into the bottom corner moments later.
Hye-Yong Kim then put a bow on things with a 90th-minute diving header.
The win, which would have been by a far greater margin if not for wasteful finishing and some heroics from Bangladeshi keeper Mile Akter, moves the North Koreans to six points and guarantees their progression to the knockout stages.
Their Group B meeting with defending champions China in Sydney next Monday evening will likely decide who tops their pool.
The group winners will face Group C’s runners-up in the quarter-finals, while the runners-up meet the second-placed side from the Matildas’ Group A.
Bangladesh, meanwhile, will need a strong performance against Uzbekistan in Perth to maintain hope of progressing as one of the two best-performing third-placed finishers.
Kim’s goal came after she’d already had two strikes annulled, her first in the 14th minute after VAR found a handball in the build-up and then for off-side in the 30th.
Jin-Hong Han also had a goal wiped after she was adjudged to have kicked the ball out of Akter’s control.
