Gwangju FC is the hottest team in K League 1 this season. Gwangju coach Lee Jeong-hyo said, “We made a fuss and made it to the final round of Group A (1st to 6th places). As he said, “I will make a lot of noise in the final round,” the biggest disruption occurred from the first game of Final A on the 21st.스포츠토토
Gwangju won 1-0 in the away match against Ulsan Hyundai in the 34th round of the ‘Hana One Q K League 1 2023’ held at Ulsan Munsu Stadium on the 21st. As a result, 3rd place Gwangju (16 wins, 9 draws, 9 losses, 57 points) lost 2nd place Pohang Steelers (15 wins, 14 points), which drew 1-1 with 5th place Incheon United (12 wins, 13 draws, 9 losses, 49 points) the previous day (20th). The point gap with the team (5 draws, 5 losses, 59 points) was narrowed to 2. Ulsan still leads with 67 points (20 wins, 7 draws, 7 losses).
It was the game that attracted the most attention among the Final A games played on the 20th and 21st. Expectations were high for Gwangju, which was achieving its best results since its founding this season, its first year of promotion. On this day as well, Gwangju knocked on Ulsan’s goal with 14 shots and 7 effective shots, and in the 43rd minute of the second half, Lee Kun-hee scored the winning goal after receiving a pass from Lee Hee-gyun.
Gwangju’s specialty, which Coach Lee showed throughout the season, shone on this day as well. In the winning goal scene, 2-3 players blocked the opponent’s counterattack with forward pressure and then attacked the space behind the opponent, earning 3 points. The bench’s improvisation was also impressive. When key midfielder Jeong Ho-yeon returned from the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, he deployed Lee Sun-min, the starting player, as left fullback, and used an unorthodox tactic of appointing all-weather defender Aaron (Australia) in that position to fill the void left by starting center back Timo (Netherlands). . Although Timo has been rehabilitating for two months since returning to his home country, his absence has been minimized by winning 6 games (1 draw, 1 loss) during that period.
The performance of 4th place Jeonbuk Hyundai (15 wins, 7 draws, 12 losses, 52 points), which beat 6th place Daegu FC (12 wins, 13 draws, 9 losses, 49 points), was also impressive. It was a huge blow as five players, including Baek Seung-ho, Park Jae-yong, Song Min-gyu, Park Jin-seop, and Kim Jeong-hoon, were selected for the Hangzhou Asian Games, but they showed that their performance could revive after the opening of the final round. Jeonbuk won 2-1 in the away game against Daegu held at DGB Daegu Bank Park on the 21st. Han Kyo-won’s first goal in the 30th minute of the first half and Daegu Edgar’s equalizer 4 minutes later made it 1-1, but Gustavo scored a penalty kick (PK) that Hyun-beom Ahn got after a foul by Beltola at the end of the second half, giving them a thrilling victory.