“It’s important to show our colors offensively. Ulsan is the leader, but we’re going to give them a run for their money.” Gwangju extended its unbeaten streak to nine games with a convincing victory over leaders Ulsan, and climbed to the top of the table with a surge of promoted teams.
Gwangju FC defeated Ulsan Hyundai 2-0 in the 29th round of the Hana OneQ K League 1 2023 at Munsu Football Stadium in Ulsan, South Korea, on March 3 at 4:30 p.m. The victory extended Gwangju’s unbeaten run in the league to nine games (four wins and five draws) and moved them into third place with 45 points. Ulsan remains on 61 points, eight points behind second-place Pohang.
Gwangju’s momentum is strong. Despite being without a number of key players, including Asani He-ryul, Timo, and Uhm Ji-sung, head coach Lee Jung-hyo has promised an attacking game against Ulsan, who will be flying the Gwangju colors.
Ahead of the match, Lee said, “The pressure is definitely on against Ulsan. It was difficult to prepare because we are missing our main players such as Heo Yul, Asani, and Timo, but it is important to show our colors no matter who comes in, and we need to be aggressive.” “Even though Ulsan is the leader, we will try to make a stand. Even if they counterattack, we have to raise our line, try to press, and score goals. If we knock on the door, goals will come. Ulsan’s style of play has stabilized, but we were worried about how to break through. “We’re not going to let them do what they do well, and we’re going to refine what we do well,” he said, predicting attacking soccer.
Lee’s words were not false. Gwangju came out aggressive, pushing up the line against leaders Ulsan, and struck first in the early going. In the 17th minute of the first half, Lee Eun-hee picked up a loose ball in the middle of the field and made quick work of it, beating goalkeeper Cho Hyun-woo.
The second half remained the same. Ulsan came out aggressively with Uhm Won-sang, Lee Cheong-yong, Lee In-jong-kyu, Kim Tae-hwan, and Bojanic, but they didn’t back down and eventually scored an additional goal. In the ninth minute of the second half, Lee Hee-gyun’s shot from the center of the field was deflected by the defense, and Bekka rattled the net with a fantastic volley.
The winners were Gwangju, who also secured a clean sheet against leaders Ulsan, and with the win, moved up to third place with a nine-match unbeaten run.
They were confident for good reason. Gwangju continued their aggressive style of play by lining up against K League 1’s absolute powerhouse, Ulsan, and earned their first victory over Ulsan in nearly eight years. Before the season, no one would have predicted Gwangju’s current position, but with nine games unbeaten, they are now in a position to look beyond survival and into the Asian Champions League 온라인바카라.
“It’s always the same,” said Lee Jung-hyo. “It doesn’t matter what team we play, the football we want to play is the same. It’s a soccer where the whole team fights to score goals. When I look at the players, I’m proud of them. I want to see how far they can go. I just have to play well. My players are doing a good enough job. In preparation for the match, Coach Park Won-kyo stayed up all night analyzing the game. I want to give the credit for today’s victory to Coach Park Won-kyo, and I also want to thank the Gwangju fans,” he said, giving all the credit to the players, coaches, and fans.