'The solution was Yago again' Ulsan wins 1-0 over Gwangju'2nd place leap'

Aug 25, 2024

'The solution was Yago again' Ulsan wins 1-0 over Gwangju'2nd place leap'



'The solution was Yago again' Ulsan wins 1-0 over Gwangju'2nd place leap'
Ulsan HD has completely washed away the Gwangju FC jinx.

Gwangju beat Ulsan HD 1-0 with Yago's winning goal in the 41st minute of the second half in the 28th round of the 'Hana Bank K League 1 2024' held at Gwangju Football Stadium on the 25th. With the victory, Ulsan jumped to second place with 48 points, beating Gimcheon and Seoul. Gwangju has lost two consecutive games.

It was the second game of the three-game series. The two teams faced off in the Korea Cup last week. At that time, Ulsan won 1-0 with Yago's winning goal. With the victory, Ulsan prepared for the game with a rotation that changed the goalkeeper to Gwangju. Ulsan, which has a thick squad, also chose a major change.



Currently, Gwangju is seventh with 37 points and Ulsan is third with 45 points. Gwangju was a must-see game to enter Final A and Ulsan to compete for the championship. Both teams lost their previous matches unfortunately by league standards. Gwangju lost to Gangwon FC 2-3, and Ulsan lost to Suwon FC 1-2. Gwangju has won four consecutive games against Ulsan, which is limited to the league. Ulsan quit the Gwangju jinx in the last Korea Cup.

Gwangju once again changed its best 11. Lee Hee-kyun and Lee Kun-hee stood on the two-top, while Ahn Hyuk-joo, Jung Ho-yeon, Choi Kyung-rok and Asani were located in the waistline. Lee Min-gi, Heo Yoon-soo, and Kim Jin-ho made a four-back. Kim Kyung-min wore goalkeeper gloves. Ulsan has to compare to the last game and changed all but Um Won-sang, Cho Hyun-woo and three others. Yago was at the forefront, and Jang Si-young, Boyanich and Um Won-sang were at the second line. Kong Won-jae and Matheus are in the third line. Shim Sang-min, Kim Young-kwon, Kim Ki-hee, and Yoon Il-rok formed the defense. Cho Hyun-woo defended the goal.



Gwangju took a good opportunity in the early hours. In the 7th minute of the first half, Asani received a conversion pass and attempted a sensational left-footed curl in front of the defense. It hit the goal post and came out. Ulsan also fought back. Yago took the lead. He took a 10-minute forward pass and arced a mid-range shot. It went up. At the same position in the 13th minute, the goalkeeper blocked his shot. In the 16th minute, he header a long throw-in from the left. It was in front of the goalkeeper.



18 min Yago has a crucial chance. Ulsan midfielders quickly poked Yago after the interception. Yago attempted a powerful left-footed shot from the no-mark. I got caught in Kim Kyung-min's super save. Gwangju also created an opportunity. In the 19th minute, Lee Hee-kyun's cross was connected by Lee Kun-hee with a sensational header. It's a little off. In the 20th minute, Lee Kun-hee hit the ball that Lee Hee-kyun sensibly stabbed with his right foot. He headed in front of the goalkeeper.



In the 21st minute, Gwangju succeeded in the interception with strong pressure. Lee Hee-kyun's shot to hit in a good situation was blocked by the defense's hand-to-hand defense. In the 22nd minute, Asani made a great shot. He beat one defense from the right and tried to shoot with his left foot. Slightly off the left post. Ulsan lost another good opportunity. Yago overcame the physical fight and tried a through pass. It was connected to Jang Si-young. He tried to shoot with his right foot in a 1-1 match with the goalkeeper. Again, goalkeeper Kim Kyung-min made a fantastic save.

In the 24th minute, Ulsan's Mateus pushed a cross ball from Shim Sang-min's left side, but it hit the defense and headed straight to the goalkeeper. In Gwangju, Ahn Hyuk-joo attempted a right-footed cross from the left in the 25th minute. It bent sharply, but it didn't fit Lee Kun-hee and flowed as it was. Ulsan's goalkeeper Kim Kyung-min tried to shoot left foot after Um Won-sang took off one defense with tremendous speed in the 35th minute, but again, goalkeeper Kim Kyung-min blocked it well. Gwangju's Choi Kyung-rok hit a fantastic through pass after exquisitely pressing in the 44th minute, but Lee Kun-hee's finish was disappointing.

Gwangju took out Ahn Hyuk-joo and put Gabriel at the start of the second half. Ulsan also put Rubik's Son and Ko Seung-beom without Um Won-sang and Boyanich. In the fifth minute of the second half, Asani connected Gabriel's free kick from a good position with a shot, but it came out against the wall. In the 8th minute, Ulsan connected the ball that Ko Seung-beom gave to the back with a mid-range shot by Won Doo-jae. It came up. Ulsan used another replacement card. Mateus was removed and Ataru was added. In the 13th minute, Choi Kyung-rok shot a ball that Jung Ho-yeon pushed from the left. It's up.

Gwangju aimed for an opportunity around Matheus' breakthrough. In the 19th minute, Ulsan added Lee Chung-yong instead of Jang Si-young. Gwangju made a great scene for 24 minutes. Lee Hee-kyun got into the box after a wonderful 2-1 pass with Lee Kun-hee. Gabriel pushed the rebound ball when the shot hit the opponent's body, but Cho Hyun-woo was saved. Gwangju immediately put Becca without Lee Kun-hee. After Ulsan's interception in the 28th minute, Rubik'sson succeeded in breaking through the left. It was followed by Ataru, and the simple shot went straight to the goalkeeper.

Gwangju used two replacement cards. Lee Min-ki and Lee Hee-kyun were removed for 33 minutes, and Lee Sang-ki and Moon Min-seo were added. 35 min Ulsan missed the perfect chance. Rubik's hand intercepted Gwangju defender Byun Jun-su's trapping miss. The shot fired in a 1-1 match with the goalkeeper went over the crossbar as it was. Rubik's hand wrapped his head in regret. Gwangju added Park Tae-joon in the 38th minute. Ulsan missed another good opportunity. Rubik's son connected the ball Lee Chung-yong raised from the right with a header. He was blocked by the goalkeeper.

The game, which seemed to end like this, ended with a wild shot in the 41st minute of the second half. Yago received Ko Seung-beom's pass and opened the Gwangju net with a powerful shot. Gwangju went all out for the rest of the time, but failed to score in the end. In the end, Ulsan laughed.



vanbasten@sportschosun.com