Professional soccer’s K League 1 Ulsan Hyundai maintained their eight-point lead in the standings with a draw against Pohang Steelers in the ‘East Coast Derby’. On the same day, last-place Suwon Samsung, under acting head coach Yoon Ki-hoon, once again hung their heads in shame at home to Incheon United, sending them to a fifth straight defeat.
Ulsan drew 0-0 with Pohang in the ‘East Coast Derby’ of the 32nd round of the Hana OneQ K League 1 2023 at Pohang Steelyard on the 30th. Heading into the match, both teams had clear goals. Top-ranked Ulsan, who had recently lost momentum, needed to secure a point, while second-ranked Pohang, who had been playing catch-up all season, wanted to close the gap further.
The game was dominated by Pohang’s offense, but Ulsan had their ‘national goalkeeper’ Cho Hyun-woo. Spurred on by the home fans, Pohang fired off a whopping nine shots on goal, all of which were saved by Cho Hyun-woo’s super saves. There were a couple of disappointing moments for Pohang. First, in the 31st minute, Zekah found the back of the net with a right-footed shot from inside the box, but the goal was disallowed due to a foul call during the previous contest. Nine minutes later, Kim In-sung was brought down by Lee Myung-jae in the box, but no penalty was awarded. Pohang coach Kim Ki-dong made a series of second-half substitutions to try to turn things around, but Hong Yun-sang’s right-footed shot in the 38th minute hit the post and went wide. The draw extended Pohang’s unbeaten streak to 11 matches (5 wins, 6 draws), but failed to close the gap on Ulsan. Ulsan remains in first place with 66 points (20W6D6L), while Pohang remains in second place with 58 points (15W13D4L).
The match between Suwon FC and FC Seoul on the same day also ended in a draw. Seoul had won the previous meeting 7-2, so it would be interesting to see if Suwon FC’s nightmare would repeat itself. But it was Suwon FC who struck first. Lopez, who returned to the K League last summer, scored a calm PK in the 28th minute to give Suwon a 1-0 lead. The goal came at a crucial time for Suwon, who were in the relegation zone (10th-12th). However, Seoul equalized seven minutes later when Ki Sung-yueng rattled the net with a left-footed mid-range shot. It was a lucky goal that deflected off a defender. It was also Ki’s first league goal. Seoul fought back down the stretch, but couldn’t find the back of the net in the end. Seoul settled for fifth place with their 11th league draw (12W9D, 47 points). Suwon FC closed the gap on ninth-place Jeju United to five points with 30 points.
The winner of the mid-table battle between Jeonbuk Hyundai and Daegu FC belonged to the visitors. Daegu took an early 2-0 lead when Go Jae-hyun scored off a header from Edgar just 14 seconds after kickoff, followed by a mid-range strike from Vassellus in the seventh minute. Jeonbuk pulled one back in the 25th minute when Nana Boateng took a pass from Jung Woo-jae and fired home a mid-range shot, but they conceded again to Go Jae-hyun in the second half. The result leaves Daegu in fourth place in the league (12W12D8L, 48 points) and Jeonbuk in seventh place (13W7D12L, 46 points).
Finally, acting head coach Yeom Ki-hoon, who made his debut on the day, was unable to stop the team’s losing streak. Suwon lost 0-2 in the 32nd round away match against Incheon at the Incheon Football Stadium on Oct. 30. The team conceded a 바카라사이트 PK goal to Mugosa in the 21st minute of the first half and a wedge goal to Chun Sung-hoon in the 38th minute of the second half. Suwon showed off their offensive prowess on the day, recording 12 shots and five on target, but were unable to solve the problem of lack of finishing in front of goal. With their 20th loss in the league (D5, L7), Suwon remained at the bottom of the table with 22 points.