Ulsan Hyundai overcame numerical inferiority and won 3 points at home. Recently, they have shaken off their slump in the league and turned around the atmosphere.
Ulsan defeated Johor 3-1 in the third round of the ‘Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League Group I’ held at Ulsan Munsu Stadium at 7 p.m. on the 24th. Following the match against Pathum United, they secured their second consecutive win in the group stage, moving up from 3rd place in Group I to 2nd place.
Ulsan left the scoring to Ji-Hyun Kim. The midfield was played by Lee Dong-kyung, Ataru, Boyanic, and Rubiksson. Seongjun Kim was in charge of coordinating attack and defense and protecting the back four in the third line. The defense consisted of Kim Tae-hwan, Lim Jong-eun, Jeong Seung-hyun, and Seol Young-woo, but Kim Ki-hee entered the team after Lim Jong-eun suffered an ankle sprain during training just before the game. Cho Hyun-woo wore the Ulsan goalkeeper’s gloves.
Ulsan attacked Johor by utilizing the flanks from the beginning. At the corner kick set piece, Seung-Hyun Jeong made a big jump and took the opportunity. He put his foot on the ball and it bounced off the goalkeeper’s hand, but the goalkeeper was unable to catch it accurately and scored the first goal. It came to fruition 5 minutes after the kickoff whistle sounded.
Ulsan’s firepower did not stop with Jeong Seung-hyun’s first goal. In the 12th minute of the first half, Rubikson cleverly caught the ball from the second line and rushed in, hitting the net just in time for the Johor goalkeeper to come out. It was the moment when coach Hong Myung-bo’s goal, who went on the offensive by deploying a defensive midfielder, was successful.
Ulsan scored its third goal in less than 20 minutes. This time, the main character was Rubikson. On the right side, Kim Tae-hwan caught a wide ball with sensational ball trapping, and shook the opposing net with an accurate shot from inside the box.
Johor, who allowed consecutive goals to Ulsan, was also no slouch. We aimed at Ulsan’s net with intermittent counterattacks. Even though Kim Tae-hwan received a warning during the ball competition, the mood in Ulsan did not drop. They continued to pressure Johor without losing the initiative. In the 35th minute of the first half, Johor tried their best to make up for the goal with one threatening shot.
Johor maintained a pressing formation until the half-time whistle sounded. Ulsan released the pressure on Johor with a flowing pass. Even when Johor surrounded him, he was able to peel it off with his individual skills. The first half ended with Ulsan in the lead.
Kim Tae-hwan received two warnings for protesting and an aggressive foul during a ball contest in the first half and was sent off. Coach Hong Myung-bo brought in Lee Myung-jae at the start of the second half to change the pitch. Johor advanced using its numerical superiority. Just as he was looking for a gap by rotating the ball, he shook the net in the 9th minute of the second half, sparking the pursuit.
Director Hong Myung-bo removed Lee Dong-kyung and added Eom Won-sang. After scoring one goal, Johor shook Ulsan by increasing ball possession compared to the first half. Ulsan calmly blocked the Johor attack and then resumed the attack. Although they were outnumbered because they were one man short, they tried to attack Johor as much as possible.
Johor pounded Ulsan’s side and focused on scoring an additional goal. Even though Ulsan put pressure on them with their local defense, they tried to get as close to the box as possible by using a one-two pass. In the 33rd minute of the second half, two players were replaced and the pitch was heated.
Ulsan overcame Johor’s tough defense and attempted free kick set pieces. Ulsan was ahead by two goals, but the heat continued until just before the end of the game. The game ended with Ulsan’s victory.
Ulsan coach Hong Myung-bo said in an interview after the game, “It’s been a long time since we played at home. I’m happy to win in front of the home fans. It was a difficult game, but the players came together as a team and fought well. It was definitely not easy with one player missing. The consecutive goals we scored in the first half “It was effective. There were players who had not competed in a long time, and I personally felt good about it,” he said.
However, it was a disappointing reaction to Kim Tae-hwan’s departure. Coach Hong said, “I always respect the referee’s decision, but there are some regrets. Kim Tae-hwan’s first warning was due to the opponent’s unsportsmanlike behavior. It was intentional. It is difficult to say that Kim Tae-hwan did well in receiving two warnings and being sent off. “It was a situation where Kim Tae-hwan could be sufficiently excited,” he explained.
He went on to say, “Everyone in the AFC Champions League has different referee tendencies. We need to fix the scene where we conceded a goal in the second half. The players stopped themselves and gave up a goal to the opponent. In order to go to a higher level, you need to understand the flow of international competitions and play.” insisted.굿모닝토토 주소
Coach Johor said, “It was a very difficult game against Ulsan. We conceded early goals in the first half, making it difficult for us. Ulsan played really rough. We were able to score one goal in the second half and take control, but we were unable to score an additional goal.” It became difficult to pass the group stage of the AFC Champions League. However, the 4th round is a home game. We need to show a good performance at home. Ulsan is the winning team. We showed a good performance in the second half against this team, so our remaining schedule is also good. “It will be positive,” he said.