Nanjing: Seven goals from striker from Ri Un-sim helped DPR Korea finish their AFC U-16 Women's Championship 2011 campaign in style with a thumping 8-0 win over Thailand at the Olympic Sport Center Stadium.

Hwang Yong-bong's side had nothing to lose after securing second spot behind champions Japan on Thursday and it allowed them to play with freedom against Thailand.

In contrast, Neungrutai Srathongvian's team finished bottom of the table in what proved a tough learning experience for her side in Nanjing.

Forward Kim So-hyang tore through the Thai defence to give DPR Korea the lead after six minutes and Ri Un-sim (pictured left) added three more goals in the first-half before taking her tally to seven in the second period.

The Korean onslaught started from the first whistle and after Kim So-hyang had broken the deadlock, they looked like scoring every time their frontline had possession.

Striker Ri Kyong-hyang was DPR Korea's catalyst, causing serious problems for the Thai defence and she presented Kim Hyang-ran with what seemed to be a certain scoring opportunity but the midfielder fired wide from close range.

Ri Kyong-hyang was once again in the thick of action when she set up strike partner Ri Un-sim but the winger also blasted her shot above the bar.

It proved a minor hiccup for the front two as their intelligent passing and searing pace resulted in three quick goals before the interval.

Ri Un-sim collected a superb floated pass from Ri Kyong-hyang in the box in the 31st minute and beat the Thai keeper for her first goal of the game.

A square ball from the left afforded Ri Un-sim more space to score her second and the then the striker took advantage of a scramble in the Thai box to net another in the dying minutes of the first-half to extend her team's lead to 4-0 at the break.

The Thai defence fell apart after the interval as Ri Un-sim struck four times in a span of 20 minutes.

First, the forward powered in a left-foot shot after Jon So-yon had showed great athleticism to set her up from 18 yards.

Ri Un-sim then claimed her fifth goal minutes later with a stunning header from 12 yards following a high ball before adding two more to complete the scoring.

Ri Un-sim took control of a pass from 18 yards and burst through a gaping hole in
the Thai defence before sliding the ball in from close range before the striker made it 8-0 from midfielder Ri Un-Yong's pass.

Hwang hails top scorer Ri

Nanjing: DPR Korea coach Hwang Yong-bong praised striker Ri Un-sim's seven-goal haul in an impressive 8-0 victory over Thailand in their last game of the AFC U-16 Women's Championship 2011.

Ri (pictured) struck a first-half hat-trick and added four more in the second period as to top the tournament's scoring chart with nine goals as DPR Korea wrapped up their campaign in impressive style.

Hwang now hopes the forward will continue her rich vein of form in next year's FIFA U-17 World Cup in Azerbaijan.

"She is the top scorer in our team and she performed really well today. She has been scoring well in domestic tournaments and we have high expectations for her," he said.

"She had many chances to score against China, Korea Republic and Australia as well but was too excited and missed those. Today she was not too excited and remained relaxed to score those seven goals.

"Actually we were very confident before coming into this game. This was not a difficult game and we were comfortable against Thailand. I let the players from the substitution list play today and encouraged them to score as many goals as possible and she did best among them.

"We expect she will do well in the World Cup and help us defeat big teams from other regions as well."

The coach, however, was disappointed to miss out on the title to Japan and now hopes DPR Korea can triumph at the World Cup.

"We intended to be the champions of this tournament, but we could not and I am sorry about it," he added.

"However, I am still pleased with the way we played. Our goal was to do well and get a ticket to the World Cup and I am glad we did that. So I am still satisfied with our performance in the tournament.

"We will have to concentrate our composure in front of goal. We need to work on final composition to score more goals. We sometimes push the opponents into a corner, but fail to score so we need to work on this aspect as well. I hope we will be able to overcome these shortcomings before the World Cup and win the event."

Thailand coach Neungrutai Srathongvian believes the experience of playing in this tournament will be invaluable for women's football in south-east Asia.

"I know we have not done well and lost all our games including today's match against DPR Korea but I am not too worried. We were concentrating more on learning from superior teams," she said.

"Now we will go back and apply what we have learnt in our football back home. Our presence here will certainly benefit women's football in our ASEAN region."

Nanjing: DPR Korea capitalised on a mix-up in the China defence to claim a 1-0 win and keep their AFC U-16 Women's Championship 2011 title hopes alive at the Jiangning Sports Centre on Thursday.

Kim Phyong-hwa converted an easy chance in the 46th minute after the hosts had allowed Ri Hyang-sim to nick possession deep in their own six-yard box.

The victory moved DPR Korea on to nine points from four games and made a top-three spot which would seal their place at next year's FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup all but secure.

China's chances of winning the championship are over though, with their hopes of a top-three finish resting on their final match against Korea Republic.

DPR Korea started the brighter, but they could not find the right final pass as China struggled to get out of their own half

Coach Hwang Yong-bong admitted his side lacked composure up front against Australia and they were rushed again when in promising positions.

The hosts threatened for the first time when Song Duan's pace and a neat one-two allowed her to escape her marker down the right.

She swung in a decent cross but it just evaded Dong Jiabao at the far post.

DPR Korea had penalty appeal correctly waved away when Ri Kyong-hyang tumbled under minimal contact in the area.

China goalkeeper Lu Feifei then completely missed a right-wing cross under pressure from Ri Un-sim, but, with Kim Phyong-hwa stooping to head what looked a certain opener, Lu recovered brilliantly to scramble the ball around the post.

Kim Phyong-hwa had another sight of goal, but failed to get a clean connection on her far-post volley and her weak shot was easy for Lu.

But she put her side ahead in the first minute of the second-half as China shot themselves in the foot.

The defence tried to shepherd the ball out of play only to allow Ri Hyang-sim to nick possession and, although she was crowded out, the ball fell to Kim Phyong-hwa to slot home a low shot from eight yards.

Kim Un-hwa then had a powerful shot from outside the area tipped over the top by Lu.

China tried push for an equaliser but never looked like finding a way through.

Instead, Jo Ryon-hwa should have doubled DPR Korea's lead in stoppage time, but blasted her shot against the underside of the bar when clean through.

We made our luck says Hwang
 

Nanjing: DPR Korea coach Hwang Yong-bong admitted his side's winning goal had a touch of good fortune but insisted they deserved their 1-0 win over China in the AFC U-16 Women's Championship 2011 on Thursday.

Kim Phyong-hwa scored at the start of the second-half at the Jiangning Sports Centre after a mix-up in the China defence allowed Ri Hyang-sim to nick possession in their own six-yard box.

The victory moved DPR Korea on to nine points from four games and made a top-three spot which would seal their place at next year's FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup all but secure.

"I agree that the goal was a bit lucky," Hwang (pictured) said.

"But it was scored according to how we had planned our tactics. We trained to create a goal by getting down the wings and cutting the ball back into the centre.

"In the other matches our players lacked composure and they couldn't convert their chances but on this occasion they showed their patience. I am satisfied with that goal, but sorry we missed some other simple chances.

"Our girls don't have much experience because for most of the players, this is their first international tournament so they are not perfectly prepared to take all their chances."

DPR Korea were especially guilty of missing chances in their opening 1-0 defeat to Japan, which could ultimately cost them the title.

China's hopes of a top-three finish in the six-team round-robin competition now rest on their final match against Korea Republic.

China coach Fan Xuewei was left to rue the moment of hesitation between goalkeeper Lu Feifei and defender Chen Pingping, who tried unsuccessfully to shield the ball from Ri in the build-up to the goal.

"According to our prediction I thought that this match should have been a draw," he said.

"I am very sad that due to our own mistake we lost the match. In the matches between us and Japan (which Japan won 3-0) and us and DPR Korea, we have conceded in total four goals and three of them because of our own mistakes, especially this one.

"I think the cause of this mistake was the lack of communication between defender and goalkeeper. The goalkeeper was changed this time and she is our substitute player and they had problems in their understanding."

IL GIAPPONE DOPO LA VITTORIA SULLA COREA DEL SUD (3-0) E' CAMPIONE. LA RPDC HA GARANTITO IL SECONDO POSTO CHE PORTA ALLA QUALIFICAZIONE AL MONDIALE UNDER-17 DEL 2012 IN AZERBAJIAN.