‘Kim In-seong’s Spectacular Goal’ Pohang Defeats Urawa for 4th Consecutive ACL Win… Round of 16 Confirmed

Jeonbuk lost a shock 0-2 to Lion City... Maintained second place in group

Professional soccer K-League 1 Pohang Steelers defeated the 'defending champion' Urawa Reds (Japan) and succeeded in securing an early spot in the round of 16 of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League (ACL).

Pohang won 2-1 in the 2023-2024 ACL Group Stage Group J 4th home game against Urawa Reds held at Pohang Steel Yard on the 8th, with Kim In-seong scoring the winning goal in extra time in the second half when the score was 1-1. https://www.oncasino.site

In the following Group J match, Wuhan Sanjeon (China, 4 points) lost 1-2 to Hanoi FC (Vietnam, 3 points).

Urawa (4 points), which has the same points as Wuhan, recorded 1 draw against Wuhan, but maintained 2nd place in goal difference.

Pohang (12 points), who won 4 consecutive wins, widened the point gap with 2nd place Urawa to 8, confirmed first place in the group regardless of the results of the remaining two games, and secured a ticket to the round of 16.

Pohang left a disappointment in the 29th minute of the first half when Lee Ho-jae's header missed the left side of Urawa's goal, and Kim Jun-ho's mid-range shot that followed immediately missed the goal.

Urawa, who responded strongly, scored first in the 36th minute of the first half.

Ekanit Panya caught the ball thrown into Pohang's left back space and passed it straight to the penalty area, and Jose Kante caught the ball and put the ball into the right corner of Pohang's goal with a left-footed shot.

Pohang coach Kim Ki-dong, who finished the first half with a score of 0-1, strengthened his offensive line at the start of the second half by replacing Lee Ho-jae and Kim Jun-ho and inserting Jeka and Lee Jong-woo.

Pohang finally scored an equalizer with a penalty kick in the 21st minute of the second half, and the star was Zeka.

In the 17th minute of the second half, a cross attempted by Ko Young-jun from the left side of the penalty area was deflected off the hand of Urawa defender Marius Hojb-Roten and connected to the goalkeeper.

The referee declared a penalty kick for Pohang after confirming Hojwiroten's handball foul through video review (VAR) a short time later, and Zeka, who played as a kicker, launched a counterattack by scoring an equalizer in the 21st minute of the second half. https://www.thebmc.co.uk/profile?id=63308

Pohang gained a numerical advantage in the 25th minute of the second half when Urawa's Takahiro Akimoto attempted a rough tackle on Ko Young-jun and was sent off after receiving a red card through VAR.

In the second half of extra time, when the scent of a draw was getting stronger, Pohang achieved a come-from-behind victory when Kim Seung-dae's cross from the right side hit the goalkeeper's hand, and Kim In-seong pushed in with his left foot to score a dramatic goal.

In the 4th game of Group F of the group stage held at Jalan Besar Stadium in Singapore, Jeonbuk Hyundai lost 0-2 to Lion City Sailors (Singapore), which is considered an 'underdog'.

Jeonbuk recorded 6 points along with Lion City, and although their record against each other was the same with 1 win and 1 loss, they maintained second place in goal difference.

In the following match, leader Bangkok United FC (Thailand, 10 points) drew 1-1 with Kichi SC (Hong Kong, 1 point).

Jeonbuk fell behind Bangkok by 4 points, but with two games remaining, there is still a glimmer of hope of ‘reversing the lead and achieving first place’.

Jeonbuk launched a one-sided offensive against Lion City, who was cowering right after kickoff, but was unable to capitalize on the opportunity to score.

Lion City, who blocked Jeonbuk's offensive with the 'attack after defense' tactic, scored the first goal with a counterattack in the 23rd minute of the first half.

When Shawal Anoir dropped the ball with a header from the right side of midfield to the left side of the penalty area, Richario Zivkovic, who was rushing, scored with a right-footed non-stop shot from the front of the penalty area.

Lion City, which had only 22% ball possession in the first half, made all three shots on target in the first half, but Jeonbuk fell short in decisive power by recording only one effective shot out of five shot attempts.

Jeonbuk, which finished the first half 0-1, missed a decisive goal opportunity in the first minute of the second half when Lee Dong-jun's cross from the right side of the penalty area hit Lion City's left goalpost
. They collapsed after giving up a goal.

Coincidentally, the team that gave up the first goal lost again.

Lion City scored multiple goals during a counterattack when Zivkovic scored with his right foot on a ball that Annuar pushed slightly from the front of the penalty area. https://stocktwits.com/cristellecruzone

Jeonbuk took the opportunity to catch up by earning a penalty kick in the 44th minute of the second half, but Gustavo, who took the kick, missed the crossbar with his right-footed shot, preventing them from losing.