Cherry blossoms are falling, but spring is in full bloom in Jeonju. Jeonbuk Hyundai finally presented victory to long-awaited home fans.
Jeonbuk beat Gwangju 2-1 in the seventh round of Hana Bank K League 1 2024 at Jeonju World Cup Stadium at 2 p.m. on the 13th.
It was the first victory in seven league matches. Jeonbuk beat Pohang in the round of 16 teams at the AFC Champions League (ALC) in February, but it had three draws and three losses in the K-League. However, Coach Petrescu also gave up the baton after the match against Jeju Island.
Jeonbuk, which had been reeling, roared at last by catching Gwangju at its home ground. It also jumped to ninth place with six points, and successfully eliminated the team. At the same time, it continued a good record by winning 10 consecutive home games against Gwangju.
Jeonbuk gained the upper hand by scoring Lee Jae-ik's debut goal in the 17th minute of the first half. Since then, the team has pushed Gwangju hard and sought additional goals. However, it failed to run away, exposing its disappointment in the closing, and gave way to Gwangju, which used a large number of substitute cards in the second half. In the 38th minute of the second half, the team gave up an equalizer to Lee Kun-hee, wondering if the team would fail to hunt for its first win again.
However, Jeonbuk didn't give up until the end. In additional time, he aggressively pressured the opposing goalkeeper to induce a mistake, and Song Min-gyu calmly cut through the net to win. Song Min-gyu, who scored his first goal in this season's league, took off his top and roared.
The strategy that acting coach Park Won-jae has been preparing has worked. He emphasized ball possession and leading play more than before, and even placed Lee Young-jae as a right midfielder, he paid attention to the possession rate. In fact, Jeonbuk struggled with the changed tactics of Gwangju in the second half, but in the first half, it seemed that it was playing as planned.
Lee Soo-bin and Maeng Sung-woong met expectations by gaining an upper hand in the waist fight against Gwangju. Jeonbuk has attacked Gwangju by demonstrating organic connection and pressure from the midfield. "What we are better than Gwangju is the level of ball rolling in the midfield," Acting President Park Won-jae said.
He also focused on pressure. Jeonbuk worked hard to harass Gwangju's defense with Song Min-gyu and Thiago two-top as the center. Gwangju's center line, without center backs Ahn Young-gyu and Popovich and goalkeeper Kim Kyung-min, made a mistake. As Park Won-jae predicted, he seemed to actively pressure Gwangju's passive build-up. 토토사이트 추천
On top of that, Jeonbuk made its first win with its opponent's mistakes combined. It successfully changed the atmosphere through play and pressure that passed through the midfield. Lee Jae-ik, who showed an outstanding performance in offense and defense, said, "The position has changed the most," adding, "We have to stand somewhere and each of us has been given a role. As we try to fulfill our given roles, we seem to get better performance."
Now that it has laid the groundwork for a rebound, Jeonbuk dreams of winning consecutive games. It is determined that it will only go up with confidence as much as it has pierced its blood. Vinicius and Lee Dong-joon's departure from the injury is painful, but it is a good thing that Ahn Hyun-bum returned after shaking off a calf injury. Captain Kim Jin-soo also returns after being punished for his exit.
Of course, it now has one win. There is still a lot of work to be done in order to return to a position that matches Jeonbuk's reputation. He should not be satisfied with his first step but build up his win step by step.
The Jeonbuk team is also more aware of this than anyone else. After the match, Lee Jae-ik said, "Just because we won the match, we didn't have a good atmosphere. We have a long way to go. We are still in a hurry." He also blamed himself and gave feedback. "I will definitely win the next game so that I can play in a uniform that is more suitable for Jeonbuk."
The next opponent is FC Seoul. Jeonbuk is committed to winning consecutive games using this victory as its driving force.
"With this opportunity, we will be able to continue the flow if the players find more confidence and raise the mood," Park Jin-seop stressed. Acting coach Park Won-jae, who is highly likely to lead the Seoul match, also said, "I won my first win at home and scored a goal at the last minute without giving up. It will be the driving force to do my best in the future." Jeonbuk, which has been curled up for a long time, is gradually starting its engine.