Beating 3rd place Gimcheon 1-0… Minhyuk Yang’s 11th goal of the season
Gangwon FC, ranked second in professional soccer K-League 1, defeated Gimcheon Sangmu with the winning goal of 18-year-old Yang Min-hyuk, raising hopes for a comeback victory.
Gangwon defeated Gangwon 1-0 in the Hana Bank K League 1 2024 35th round home game held at Gangneung Sports Complex on the 26th. ‘High school K Leaguer’ Yang Min-hyuk scored his 11th goal of the season in the 18th minute of the second half, giving Gangwon 3 valuable points.
Gangwon, which had won two games in a row in the final round, recorded 18 wins, 7 draws, and 10 losses (61 points), closely following leader Ulsan HD (62 points), which had played one less game.
On the other hand, 3rd place Gimcheon (57 points) faltered in the final round by failing to score a single goal against Ulsan (0-0) and Gangwon, and virtually fell away from the championship race. Gangwon went on the offensive by increasing possession from the beginning of the game, but Gimcheon It was difficult to get a shooting opportunity due to being blocked by the defense.
Both teams, who were unable to create decisive opportunities, improved their attack details after the middle of the first half.
First, in the 33rd minute of the first half, Gimcheon connected Kim Seung-seop’s cross from the left side with Park Sang-hyuk’s header, and 10 minutes later, Lee Seung-won threatened Gangwon’s defense with a right-footed mid-range shot.
Gangwon recorded its first shot only in extra time in the first half, but missed a crucial opportunity. Kovacevic, who received a cross from the right side in front of the goal, overcame the opponent’s intensive control and passed, and Kim Young-bin connected with a shot.
However, Gimcheon’s goalkeeper Kim Dong-heon made a great save and prevented the goal from being conceded.
Gangwon coach Yoon Jeong-hwan changed the attack by replacing Kovacevic and Lee Sang-heon in the 17th minute of the second half with Gabriel and Cho Jin-hyuk to open the scoring for Gimcheon, and it was effective in just one minute.
Gimcheon cleared Lee Ki-hyuk’s free kick from the left side, which Yang Min-hyuk struck into the corner of the goal with a right-footed mid-range shot from outside the penalty box. Yang Min-hyuk tasted a goal for the first time in two games since the Incheon United match on the 6th.
Gangwon swallowed their disappointment in the 34th minute of the first half when Cho Jin-hyuk’s left-footed shot missed the goal at a crucial opportunity for an additional goal.
Gangwon, which maintained a one-goal advantage, laughed at goalkeeper Lee Kwang-yeon’s save in the 49th minute of the second half. Lee Gwang-yeon protected the team’s victory by blocking Kim Bong-su’s shot with his whole body in front of the goal during Gimcheon’s corner kick attack.
FC Seoul defeated Suwon FC 1-0 at Suwon Stadium, surpassing Pohang Steelers (52 points) and leaping to 4th place (53 points). In addition, they faced Suwon FC four times this season and won every game without conceding a single goal.
Seoul scored the winning goal in the 30th minute of the first half when Lucas connected with a corner kick from Jesse Lingard with an exquisite header.
Eight minutes later, Lingard and Lucas combined for an additional goal, but the joy did not last long. Through video review, it was confirmed that the ball hit Lucas’ right hand before shooting, and the score was cancelled.
Seoul lost the ball to Jeong Seung-bae in the extra time of the first half due to a fatal mistake by goalkeeper Kang Hyun-moo, but Lingard, who came down to the defensive area, quickly covered and avoided the crisis.
Ki Sung-yong, who was out of action due to an Achilles tendon injury, replaced Lee Seung-mo in the 22nd minute of the second half and made his comeback. It has been four months since Ki Sung-Yong played in an official match against Gwangju FC on June 2.
6th place Suwon FC (50 points) is in a slump with 7 consecutive games without a win (3 draws, 4 losses).
(Seoul = News 1)