The fever of professional soccer is getting hotter and hotter. This weekend, various new records are being made, adding to the interest.
The K-League 1 Pohang Steelers suffered their first loss of the season to Incheon United after Kim In-sung was sent off due to accumulated warnings.
Pohang’s ‘opening undefeated streak’ ended in 9 games.
In the 10th round home game between Incheon and Hana 1 Q K League 1 2023 held at Pohang Steel Yard on the 30th, Pohang contributed 2 goals in the second half only with 10 players playing and lost 0-2.
Pohang (19 points), which had been undefeated in the opening 9 games (5 wins, 4 draws), tasted its first loss in the 10th game and ended up in 3rd place.
Incheon (12 points), who caught the ‘big fish’, shook off the disappointment of the last 2 consecutive games without a win (1 draw, 1 loss) and won its 3rd win (3 draws, 4 losses) of the season, rising two steps to 9th place.
Pohang was anxious from the start.
In the 11th minute of the first half, Incheon Cheon Seong-hun dug into the right side of the penalty area, and Ha Chang-rae blocked a cross, but the ball hit the left post and almost became an own goal.
In the 30th minute of the first half, Pohang overcame the risk of conceding a point by blocking the ball with a blow of his body just before the cross that led to the goal was connected to the head of Incheon Chun Seong-hun.
However, in the extra time of the first half, Kim In-seong received a warning for an aggressive tackle on Incheon Jerso, who was competing for the ball. Kim In-seong, who had already received a yellow card in the 34th minute, was sent off due to accumulated warnings.
In the second half against Pohang with 10 men, Incheon bombed the goal.
In the 10th minute of Incheon’s second half, Mun Ji-hwan tore Pohang’s goal net with a powerful 25m right-footed mid-range gun in the midfield of Pohang’s camp.
In the 20th minute of the counterattack, Cheon Seong-hun, who received a pass from Jerso, calmly bypassed a defender from the front of the penalty area and scored an additional goal with a right-footed shot to defeat Pohang.
At the Suwon World Cup Stadium, Daegu FC defeated Suwon Samsung 1-0 with Edgar’s winning goal.
Daegu, which won its first victory in the away season this season, continued its undefeated rise in three consecutive games (2 wins, 1 draw) despite the absence of Sejingya’s injury, rising to 7th place (13 points).
Suwon, who fell into 5 consecutive losses, broke the record for the most consecutive draws in the opening season of the club with 10 games (2 draws, 8 losses).
If Suwon fails to win the match against Incheon United in the 11th round, they will face a disgraceful leaderboard where they cannot win a single win against 11 K-League 1 teams.
Choi Seong-yong, who had no place to back down, took on a central role in the team’s attack, putting forward 40-year-old ‘playing coach’ Yeom Ki-hoon as the starter. It was Yeom Ki-hoon’s first appearance this season.
Foreign player Akosti, who returned from injury, also started for the first time in the season and was responsible for Suwon’s right-hand attack.
Suwon launched a wave of offensive attacks, but was stopped by Daegu’s full-body defensive fighting spirit, and there were not many threatening shooting scenes.
It was up to Daegu, who took advantage of the set-piece opportunity, to score.
In the 8th minute of the second half, when Lee Yong-rae took a corner kick from the right, Edgar jumped up and shook the Suwon net with a header.
Daegu enjoyed the joy of victory with effective tactics despite Seningya’s absence due to injury.
Suwon failed to find an equalizer in the 11th minute of the second half when center back Bultuis retired due to injury.
At the Daejeon World Cup Stadium, Jeju United defeated Daejeon Hana Citizen of the ‘promoted team’ by a score of 3-0, and created excitement by winning ‘four consecutive away wins’.
Jeju flew high, winning 4 wins (2 losses) in 6 games held in April along with a pleasant 2-game winning streak.
All four wins Jeju won this season were away matches.
In the 21st minute of the first half, Hayes, who started as a corner kicker in Jeju, gave a short kick to Lee Chang-min on the right side of the penalty area instead of a long kick.
When Kim Joo-won dropped Lee안전놀이터Chang-min’s cross to his head, Kim O-kyu scored with a strong left-footed shot from the left side of the penalty area to take the lead.
In a corner kick situation, defender Kim O-kyu, who joined the attack, scored the season’s beast.
Jeju also scored from a corner kick taken in the 33rd minute of the first half.
Corner kicker Hays briefly exchanged passes with Lee Chang-min, and Jung-woon finished the cross with a header.
Jeong Woon also joined the attack in a corner kick situation and then started the scoring gun, and the defender was responsible for both Jeju’s first half goals.
Jeju finished the first half 2-0 as Kim Seung-seop’s goal was canceled by video review (VAR) in the extra time of the first half.
After calmly blocking Daejeon’s offensive, Jeju scored a key goal from a corner kick in the 33rd minute of the second half.
When Lee Chang-min’s right corner kick hit the Daejeon defender’s head and fell, Kim Bong-soo hit a wedge with a right-footed turning shot from the front of the penalty area.
At Ulsan Munsu Stadium, leader Ulsan Hyundai scored a 2-1 come-from-behind victory over Gwangju FC with Ju Min-gyu’s ‘theater reverse goal’ in extra time in the second half.
Ulsan, which had been stagnant for a while with 2 consecutive wins (1 draw, 1 loss) after opening 6 consecutive wins, won 2 consecutive wins.
Ulsan recorded 25 points, widening the gap with 2nd place FC Seoul (19 points) to 6 points, solidifying its sole lead.
On the other hand, Gwangju, even after scoring the opening goal, was defeated by Ulsan’s back, and fell into a slump in 3 consecutive matches (1 draw, 2 losses) and fell to 6th place.
Ulsan, who finished the first half without scoring, lost their teamwork in the 18th minute of the second half when defender Kim Ki-hee was injured.
In the 26th minute of the second half, Gwangju Lee Soon-min’s mid-range gun hit the crossbar and came out, sweeping his chest.
In the 36th minute of the second half, Gwangju’s right-footed shot from Lee Kang-hyun hit the crossbar, bounced to the ground, and was sucked into the goalpost, succeeding in overpowering Gwangju.
Ulsan’s back heart was strong.
In the 41st minute of the second half, Bako, who replaced Kim Ki-hee, who was out due to injury, scored the equalizer with a right-footed shot from the front of the penalty arc after Kim Min-hyeok let the ball slip.
As the ball hit the defender and was slightly deflected, the goalkeeper was helpless.
In the 45th minute of the second half Ju Min-gyu scored the winning goal of a come-from-behind comeback.
In the confusion before the goal, Lee Cheong-yong put the ball in from the right corner of the goal area with his head, and Joo Min-gyu put it in from the left side of the goal area with his left foot.