Yesterday’s ‘enemy’ becomes today’s ‘comrade’…’Hyundai is a rival’ joining hands with Pohang
In the match between Jeonbuk and Pohang, Hyundai’s rivals have one goal. Jeonbuk wins a point against Pohang.
Jeonbuk Hyundai and Pohang Steelers will play round 35 of ‘Hana One Q K League 1 2023’ at Jeonju World Cup Stadium at 2 p.m. on the 28th. Currently, Jeonbuk is in 4th place with 15 wins, 7 draws, and 12 losses (52 points), and Pohang is in 2nd place with 15 wins, 14 draws, and 5 losses (59 points).
The fate of three teams depends on the confrontation between the two teams. Ulsan is at stake for an early win, and Pohang can keep its slim hopes of winning the title alive. Jeonbuk has a ticket to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League (ACL) at stake. Coincidentally, the fateful ‘Hyundai’ rivals Jeonbuk and Ulsan joined hands in this match. Both teams want to prevent Pohang from gaining points.
# Ulsan, an early winner,
is on the verge of being crowned the K-League king. If this round goes as Ulsan wants, they will become the protagonists of the throne they have been holding so far. For this to happen, victories by Jeonbuk and Ulsan are needed.굿모닝토토 도메인
Ulsan and Jeonbuk are fateful ‘Hyundai’ rivals. The rivalry between the two was formed as Ulsan and Jeonbuk have as parent companies HD Hyundai and Hyundai Motors, respectively, group companies from Pan-Hyundai University. ‘Hyundai’ is a rival that competes for the championship every season, but this season, Jeonbuk has shown a downward trend and has fallen away from the championship race. Rather, Jeonbuk became the ‘key’ to Ulsan and Pohang’s championship competition.
If Jeonbuk wins a point against Pohang, Ulsan will have a chance to win early. Currently, 1st place Ulsan and 2nd place Pohang are 8 points apart. If Ulsan wins in the Daegu match held the next day, the points lead between the two teams will increase to 11 points. This is a gap that cannot be overturned even if all three remaining final round games are played, so the championship trophy will go to Ulsan. Ulsan has always had to be anxious ahead of the championship trophy, so they are trying to confirm the championship early this season and are rooting for their ‘enemy’ Jeonbuk.
# Pohang, trying to keep hopes of a miraculous championship alive Pohang
is Ulsan’s championship team. Pohang caught Ulsan in the ‘East Coast Derby’ when Ulsan was at its most dangerous, giving them the nightmare of finishing second.
This season, they followed closely behind Ulsan and further threatened Ulsan’s championship journey. Pohang has maintained second place since the 17th round. It was perhaps a more frightening time for Ulsan than the nightmare of 2013 and 2019, when the championship trophy was taken away before their eyes.
However, Pohang’s ‘winning squad’ DNA slowly began to weaken. In the last ‘East Coast Derby’ of the regular season, which could have been a stepping stone for a comeback, they ended up drawing a draw against Ulsan and are unable to catch up. Pohang, who has not won in four games since the 31st round, the game before the ‘East Coast Derby’, is already under threat of second place. While they were only aiming for the throne, 3rd place Gwangju was chasing them, narrowing the gap to 2 points.
In order to maintain its current position, Pohang must gain a point against Jeonbuk. The team is currently on a forced march through the ACL and FA Cup, but there is no time to catch their breath in order to extinguish the fire of the league’s second-place scorer. Fortunately, Pohang remembers winning three games against Jeonbuk this year. In addition, the team’s ‘solver’ Zeka also boasted a threatening scoring ability by winning the K-League Player of the Month award in September for scoring 3 goals in 4 games in September. If Pohang can achieve their fourth win against Jeonbuk this year, they can maintain second place and at the same time prevent Ulsan from winning early.
# Jeonbuk Jeonbuk, with hopes of advancing to the ACL,
is trying to restore its honor. Jeonbuk is the team that holds the record for the most consecutive wins by winning the K-League 1 the most 9 times and maintaining its throne for 5 consecutive years. Jeonbuk has a reputation for winning, but its reputation has begun to show cracks over the past two seasons.
It started with runner-up finish last season. ‘Hyundai’ lost the championship trophy it had held for five years to its rival Ulsan. The lost honor could not be recovered quickly. Jeonbuk promised to bring back the trophy this season, but things did not go as planned. Hyundai fell to 10th place with 6 losses in 10 games in the league, which opened with a loss to Derby. Just before the Seoul game after entering the relegation zone, coach Kim Sang-sik eventually resigned from his position as coach.
Still, Jeonbuk had the last laugh and avoided the fall. Until the moment before the final game of the regular round, Jeonbuk was unable to confirm its advancement to Final A. Only after a bloody battle with Seoul in the final game was Jeonbuk able to escape the humiliating crisis of being assigned to ‘Final B’ for the first time since its founding.
Jeonbuk’s goal is now third place. If Jeonbuk moves up just one level from 4th place, it will advance to the ACL. Jeonbuk plans to win at least one point in the match against Pohang and chase down the five-point gap with Gwangju in third place. They lost all three matches against Pohang, but looking at Jeonbuk’s recent momentum, the story is different. Since the match against Seoul, which barely made it into Final A, Jeonbuk has won two consecutive league games and scored three goals against Singapore’s Lion City in the ACL group stage, earning one win. Jeonbuk’s rebound began with the return of the five players (Seung-ho Baek, Min-gyu Song, Jin-seop Park, Jeong-hoon Kim, and Jae-yong Park) who were selected for the Hangzhou Asian Games. Jeonbuk hopes to continue its momentum by successfully hunting for points in the game against Pohang. This round is the moment when ‘Hyundai’ rivals Jeonbuk and Ulsan are on the same page.