Hana One Q K League 1 2023 marks the 10th round since it opened. With a fierce ranking battle unfolding from the beginning, an exciting confrontation awaits in this round as well.
Match of round – Pohang and Incheon meet in a completely different atmosphere
In the 10th round, the 2nd place Pohang Steelers (19 points) and 10th place Incheon United (9 points) meet. This season is a special year for both teams. This is because Pohang celebrated its 50th anniversary and Incheon celebrated its 20th anniversary.
Therefore, ahead of the opening of the season, Pohang promised to win, and Incheon raised expectations with a massive reinforcement as it entered the first Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League (ACL). However, about two months after the opening, the atmosphere of the two teams is quite different.
First of all, the atmosphere of the home team Pohang is the best. After the opening, it is the only one of the 12 K-League 1 clubs to go undefeated (5 wins, 4 draws). With captain Kim Seung-dae at the head, the young guns Koh Young-jun and Lee Ho-jae, who have improved their performance, the new midfield combination Kim Jong-woo and Oberdan, and the transfer students Baek Seong-dong, Jeka, and Kim In-seong, who have perfectly integrated into the team, are performing evenly. Goalkeeper Hwang In-jae, Ha Chang-rae, Park Seung-wook, and Shim Sang-min, who conceded only 8 goals in 9 games, also have a strong defensive line, so there is no room for water to leak on both sides of the offense and defense.
On the other hand, away team Incheon is off to a shaky start. Contrary to what was highly anticipated at the beginning of the season, they only managed to win 2 out of 9 games. In particular, with the 4th place in the lowest score (9 points) and the 2nd place in the most goals (15 goals), both offense and defense are in need of a breakthrough. However, Chun Seong-hoon, the “returned youth”, emerged as a new hope for the offense by scoring multiple goals as well as his debut goal in the K-League. In addition, Shin Jin-ho, who is dealing with his parents, pledges to do well in this confrontation with extraordinary motivation.
Team of Round – Gangwon, First Victory in the Season of Miracles
Last season, Gangwon FC advanced to Final A for the first time in three years and ranked 6th, the best tie ever, but showed a sluggish performance at the beginning of this season. It fell into a drawless swamp (4 draws and 4 losses) until the 8th round and hovered at the bottom. The one-two punch Kim Dae-won and Yang Hyeon-joon, who were the best hit products of last season, have yet to taste a goal. 메이저놀이터
Gangwon, in desperate need of a rebound, brought FC Seoul home in the 9th round and won their first win of the season. With the first win of the season, the gap between the lowest ranked Suwon Samsung (2 points) and the victory point widened to 5 points, and this weekend, they will challenge Jeonbuk Hyundai for a winning streak. If the match is won, both teams’ points will be tied.
Player of Round – Gatekeeper Lee Chang-geun, who guards Daejeon’s Goal Gate Lee
Chang-geun played professionally at Busan I-Park in 2012, then played for Suwon FC and Jeju United before joining Daejeon Hana Citizen last year. He contributed to promotion by playing 32 games last season and conceding only 33 goals, and this season, he even took on the position of vice-captain and has been guarding the goal for two consecutive years.
Currently, Lee Chang-geun is participating in all games until the ninth round, and he is showing good performance in terms of supplementary data, ranking first in punching (19) and second in catching (15) among all K-League 1 goalkeepers. He recorded two clean sheets. He also set a record of 200 appearances in the K-League in his personal career, while demonstrating unwavering performance in every game with excellent defense and kicking power.
Thanks to Lee Chang-geun’s performance, Daejeon is on a winning streak, recording 5 wins, 2 draws and 2 losses in this year’s K-League 1, the promotion season, and rising to 3rd place. It is a plan to raise the mood with a streak in the face-to-face match with Jeju this round.