Ulsan Hyundai, celebrating its 40th anniversary, will challenge Daegu FC for the first time in history.
Ulsan will play the 35th round of Hana One Q K League 1 2023 and the second match of Final A against 6th place Daegu at Munsu Soccer Stadium at 2 p.m. on the 29th.
Currently, Ulsan is in the lead with 67 points from 34 games, 20 wins, 7 draws, and 7 losses. They are 8 points ahead of 2nd place Pohang Steelers (59 points).
Ulsan has already attracted 281,473 spectators in 16 games, and is on the verge of becoming the first non-metropolitan club to exceed 300,000 spectators in this match against Daegu.
Now, let’s take on another challenge of history. It is the ‘first league title won two times in a row’.
On the 21st, Ulsan played well against Gwangju FC in the first away match of Final A, but unfortunately lost 0-1. However, it was encouraging that they overwhelmed their opponents with more intense pressure and team play than before the international break. And on the 24th, they won 3-1 in the third match of Group I of the 2023/2024 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League (ACL) against Johor Bahru (Malaysia) held at home. This signaled a turnaround with 2 wins, 1 loss, and 6 points. At the same time, they avenged the two losses they suffered against Johor in the ACL last season.
There are now 4 games left in K League 1. Pohang, Ulsan’s championship rival, will travel to Jeonbuk Hyundai on the 27th. If Pohang loses to Jeonbuk and Ulsan wins to Daegu the next day, the gap will be 11 points. Regardless of the results of the remaining three games, Ulsan’s early victory is confirmed.
If Pohang draws with Jeonbuk on this day, they can reach 60 points, and if Ulsan defeats Daegu, they can reach 70 points, which is an absolute advantage in winning the championship.
We definitely need a win in this game against Daegu so that we don’t have to worry until the last minute like last season. On October 16 last year, Ulsan came from behind to win 2-1 against Gangwon FC, sealing an early victory with one game remaining.토토사이트
If the best scenario that Ulsan wants this season is achieved, an early victory is confirmed with three games remaining. If that happens, you will have time to focus on ACL as well. In addition, it can increase players’ performance and confidence.
The outlook is bright. Ulsan has a lot of good memories in Daegu. On May 5th of this year, they won 3-0 in an enemy field and broke the Daegu away jinx (the first away win in Daegu since Hong Myung-bo took office). At that time, Hwang Jae-hwan (2 goals) and Bako scored consecutive goals to win 3-0. On June 24th at the Tiger’s Den, Kim Tae-hwan and Bako (2 goals) hit the net in succession to win 3-1. They drew 0-0 in an away game in Daegu on August 5, and are undefeated in 3 games this season (2 wins, 1 draw). Ulsan also holds the upper hand in its previous record against Daegu with 31 wins, 15 draws, and 8 losses.
A player to keep an eye on is Bako. Bako scored 3 goals in 3 games against Daegu. Rubikson, who scored multiple goals in Johor’s net, tasted goal again on the 157th day since the match against Suwon Samsung (3-2 win) on May 21.
Ulsan’s defense has stabilized by conceding 3 goals in the last 5 official games (3 K-League 1 games, 2 ACL games), and its offense has revived by scoring 3 goals in the game against Johor. I recalled the good memories of the Daegu match and prepared to become the owner of the K League championship trophy at home.