Professional soccer’s K League 1 leaders Ulsan Hyundai added a win to their three-game winning streak with a cool come-from-behind victory over Suwon FC.
Ulsan defeated Suwon FC 3-1 in the 17th round of the Hana OneQ K League 2023 on Saturday at Suwon Sports Complex.
After a 3-3 draw with Daejeon Hana Citizens in Round 15 and a 0-2 loss to Jeonbuk Hyundai in Round 16, the top-ranked Ulsan secured their first win in three matches.
With the win, Ulsan extended its unbeaten streak against Suwon FC to seven games, dating back to October 2, 2021.
League leader Ulsan (41-13 W, 2 D, 2 L) maintained its dominance, moving 11 points clear of second-place Pohang Steelers (30-8 W, 6 D, 3 L).
Suwon FC, on the other hand, remained in ninth place (18-5 W, 3 D, 9 L).
Ulsan conceded an early goal to Suwon FC, who had only 33% of the ball in the first half.
In the 16th minute, the ball bounced off the head of the Ulsan defense and fell to Yoon Beom-garam, who rushed into the penalty area and connected with a sensational non-stop right-footed inside kick that found the corner of the opposite goal.
Ulsan, who made changes at the start of the second half by introducing Bako and Lee Chung-yong, found the equalizer in the 24th minute.
Ulsan’s Ataru won the ball through forward pressure in the Suwon FC zone and immediately passed it to Munjeon Martin-Adam, whose left-footed inside kick rattled the net.
In the 42nd minute, Lee In-gyu scored the game-winner.
On a corner kick for Ulsan, Suwon FC’s Yoon Beom-garam failed to clear the ball properly, allowing it to drift slightly to the side, where In-Ju-gyu slotted it home with his right foot to split the goal.
With the goal, In-Joo took his tally to nine goals for the season and became the league’s leading scorer.
In second-half stoppage time, Ulsan Bako scored a wedge goal with his left foot to make it 3-1.
Ulsan had two goals ruled offside on the day, making it look like the game would not be easy for them, but they held on for the win.
Meanwhile, Suwon FC’s Park Joo-ho, who held a retirement ceremony before the game, started the match and played the entire 91 minutes before being substituted to the applause of the home fans.
At the Pohang Steelyard, the home team Pohang Steelers defeated Jeju United 2-1.
Pohang jumped two spots from fourth to second place (30-8 wins, 6 draws, 3 losses).
Pohang, whose early-season momentum had slowed to just two wins since May, upended its top-two rival, Jeju, to solidify its rebound.
It also snapped a three-game losing streak against Jeju.
With their first defeat in nine games, Jeju dropped to third place (28-8 W, 4 D, 5 L).
Pohang took the lead in the first 20 minutes through Lee Ho-jae.
A ball cleared off the line by the opposing defense floated high in the penalty area and the onrushing Lee Ho-jae slotted it inside with his right foot.
With his goal against Gwangju FC, Lee has now scored in two consecutive league games for the first time in his career.
Lee, a third-year professional, now has five goals this season.
In what followed, Pohang missed several good scoring chances in a fierce midfield battle, before Jeju equalized in the 35th minute on a penalty kick from Hayes.
Earlier, Jeju’s Kim Ju-gong had drawn a foul from Pohang’s Oberdan after receiving a penetrating pass from Yuri Jonatan.
Hays stepped up to take the kick and his initial left-footed shot was saved by Pohang goalkeeper Hwang In-jae, but a review showed that Hwang’s foot had come off the goal line before he took the shot, giving Hays another penalty kick opportunity.먹튀검증
This time, Hayes converted from the right side to equalize.
Pohang continued to hunt for a goal and secured the victory in the 47th minute with a header from Park Seung-wook following a free-kick cross from Baek Sung-dong.
It was the second league goal of the defender’s career.