Despite losing another star striker to injury, the Pohang Steelers did not go down without a fight.
Pohang defeated Suwon FC 3-1 at home in the 20th round of the 2023 Hana One Q K League 1 at Pohang Steel Yard on Sunday, thanks to a 41st-minute goal from Grant, a 13th-minute strike from Zeca, and a late Han Chan-hee wedge in stoppage time.
With the win, Pohang improved to 10 wins, seven draws and three losses (37 points), maintaining a 13-point gap on second place Ulsan (50 points), which took sole possession of the top spot after beating Gwangju 1-0 on the same day.
Pohang was dealt a blow on the first day of the week when their ‘attacking nucleus’, Baek Sung-dong, suffered a back injury during training. The loss of Baek Seong-dong, who has been the main striker in Pohang’s uniform this season, seems even more devastating as he is tied for first place in K League 1 assists with Leandro (Daejeon) with seven. On top of that, Pohang had a lot of injuries. Shim Sang-min, Kim Jong-woo, Jung Jae-hee, Go Young-joon, and Shin Kwang-hoon were out of the lineup.
Before the game, head coach Kim Ki-dong said, “Recruitment is slowing down.” This meant that the return of players on the injury list was delayed, 메이저사이트 and Kim was forced to pull out two under-22 cards. Kim Jun-ho, born in 2002, and Cho Jae-hoon, born in 2003. In addition, Yoon Min-ho, who had only appeared in one game this season, was sent to the starting lineup. “There was nothing to worry about,” Kim said, “but the younger players did well in the practice game. I only asked them to play as much as they did in the practice game.”
On the other hand, Suwon FC coach Kim Do-gyun was confident of a rebound. Midfielder Lee Young-jae started after being “discharged from the military,” and Lopez, who had been chewing up the K League with Jeonbuk, was brought in and named to the substitutes’ roster. With Rath, Jung Jae-yoon, and Kim Ye-sung in the attacking line, Kim filled the midfield with Kim Sun-min, Lee Young-jae, and Yoon Beetgaram. The back four was Jung Dong-ho, Jackson, Shin Se-wha, and Yong. Park Bae-jong guarded the goal.
The lid was opened. Pohang threatened the opposition from the first shot, hitting the crossbar. In the 13th minute, Park Seung-wook’s cross from the right flank was met by Lee Ho-jae’s header from the edge of the box, but it hit the crossbar.
Pohang, reignited by Yoon Min-ho’s right-footed shot in the 17th minute, had a chance in the 22nd minute when Wandelsson’s cross from the left flank was headed in by Kim In-sung, who was rushing in from the other side, but it hit the crossbar.
In the 35th minute, Kim In-sung fired a right-footed shot from the right side of the penalty box that was saved by Hoesim. In the 37th minute, Kim Jun-ho unleashed an unstoppable left-footed shot from 25 meters from goal that narrowly missed the left post. 토토사이트 순위
Suwon was outplayed by Pohang’s organization in the first half, with Lee Seung-woo’s shot in the 39th minute being the team’s first shot on target.
The first goal belonged to Pohang. In the 41st minute, Grant rattled the net with a sensational header off a corner kick from Yoon Min-ho.