A dramatic injury time winner gave North Korea a 2-1 win over South Korea in the semifinals of the women’s football at the Asian Games yesterday.

The match seemed set for extra time when South Korean defender Lim Seon Joo was woefully short with a headed back pass and though keeper Kim Jung Mi initially came to her rescue with a save, North Korean substitute Ho Un Byol was on hand to find the empty net on the rebound.

All of the North Korean players, with the exception of keeper Hong Myong Hui, piled onto Ho in an ecstatic celebration in the Munhak Stadium in Incheon.

“Today’s match was not an easy game,” said North Korean coach Kim Kwang Min. “In the first half, I think our players panicked a little but as the second half started, we got better concentrating on the game and found our own pace. I’m glad that we won.”

It was a victory for North Korea which was just about deserved.  Despite the coach’s concerns, they dominated the majority of the first half though only had Ri Ye Gyong’s equaliser to show for it.  The bar and post had twice come to the aid of keeper Kim.

South Korea had taken the lead after 12 minutes when Jung Seol Bin’s dipping free kick deceived Hong to find the net but they were rarely a force going forward before the break.

As the 90 minute mark approached, South Korea were the stronger and Ji So Yun struck the bar with a brilliant shot from distance just a few minutes before Ho’s winner.

North Korea meet Japan in Wednesday’s final searching for their third gold medal in four editions but lost out to the Japanese in the 2010 final.

South Korea face Vietnam for bronze on the same day and coach Yoon Du Kyeo must try to raise the morale of his players.

“I feel sorry for our players who made so many efforts and played so well. Even though we lost the game, I still believe that our players did very well,” Yoon said.

“(For Wednesday) we will try to focus on helping the players to recover from the physical exhaustion.” Not to mention the mental aspect of it.