North Korean women win in South to reach Asian Champions League final

Naegohyang Women’s FC record a historic 2-1 win over Suwon FC Women on a rare trip to South Korea, where they will face Tokyo Verdy Beleza in the final.North Korea’s first sport team to visit the South in eight years has reached the Asian Women’s Champions League final with Naegohyang Women FC’s 2-1 win over Suwon FC Women.Naegohyang came from behind to defeat their rivals from the South amid torrential rain in Suwon on Wednesday, in a hard-fought semifinal played in a fair spirit without any major flashpoints.Suwon captain Ji So-yun missed a penalty with just more than 10 minutes to play.The North Koreans hugged each other and wept at the full-time whistle as the Suwon players slumped to the turf.“We believed in our team’s ability,” said Naegohyang’s Choe Kum Ok, who scored her team’s equaliser in the second half.“If all of us stay united, neither the semifinal or final will be a problem for us.”Naegohyang Women’s FC players celebrate after winning the semifinal [Jung Yeon-je/AFP]The North Koreans will stay in the South for Saturday’s final, where they will take on Japan’s Tokyo Verdy Beleza at the same stadium.“Every player’s role is important, but things didn’t go well for us in the first half,” said Choe.“Once we got into the second half, we found our rhythm, and I think the game flowed much better for us.”Interest in the rare North-South semifinal was intense, and 7,087 general admission tickets sold out within hours of going on sale last week.However, bad weather meant half the seats in the roofless Suwon Sports Complex Stadium were empty.South Korean supporters cheer during the AFC Women’s Champions League semifinal [Jung Yeon-je/AFP]‘Travelled such a long way’A large group of spectators from civic groups backed by Seoul’s unification ministry were in the stadium to support both teams, although they were mostly silent.