Jeonbuk Hyundai defeated Ulsan Hyundai 2-0 in the 16th round of the Hana OneQ K League 1 2023 at Jeonju World Cup Stadium at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday. With three points, Jeonbuk remains in seventh place.
The first half was evenly matched, but as time went on, Jeonbuk began to lose ground to Ulsan. Jeonbuk utilized a variety of attacking routes, including long passes from the back to Gustavo up front and attacks down the flanks with Kim Jin-soo and Jung Woo-jae, but they were unable to break through Ulsan’s defense. In fact, they conceded several threatening chances to Ulsan and were pushed back to the point where they were lucky not to concede a goal.
Jeonbuk did have one shot, though. In the 39th minute, Jun Amano’s cross was met by Cho Kyu-sung in front of goal with a header that split the net. It was a joint goal by the two players who came on in the second half. Kim Doo-hyun’s substitute card was the difference.
Jeonbuk took advantage of Ulsan’s urgency to drive a wedge. In the second half, Jeonbuk had a chance to counterattack in stoppage time, and Moon Sun-min scored a wedge goal after receiving a pass from Song Min-kyu to widen the gap. The game ended with a 2-0 victory for Jeonbuk.
Kim Jin-soo, who started the match, was his usual aggressive self and took charge of Jeonbuk’s left flank. This was exemplified in the 33rd minute when he sent a low, quick cross to Cho Kyu-sung from the left flank. In the third minute of the second half, he prevented a crucial situation for the opponent by stopping Rubikson from breaking through on the dribble.
After the game, we caught up with Kim Jin-soo in the mix zone. When asked if he was feeling well physically after the game, he talked about the importance of mental strength. Mental strength is something that Kim Doo-hyun has consistently emphasized. When asked to elaborate, he said, “I think the physical burden will disappear when we win the match. Mental is more important. We have a lot of fans, but we didn’t perform well. Everyone was hurting individually and as a team. I don’t think there’s a big problem with their skills, but they talked a lot about how they think when they go out on the field and what they can do well,” said Kim Doo-hyun about what he told them.
Jeonbuk lost their last game against the Pohang Steelers, but immediately bounced back with a win against Ulsan. Despite the gap between Ulsan and Jeonbuk in the standings, a rivalry win could be a good way to boost the team’s mood. But Kim was determined.
“I think we just beat a team, just like we did against other teams. It’s not the rivalry that matters to us now. There’s no game that doesn’t matter. We have to win no matter what team we play. The fact that it’s Ulsan doesn’t double our joy,” he said calmly.
Jeonbuk briefly moved up to sixth place with the win, before dropping back down to seventh due to the results of other teams, but it is encouraging 스포츠토토 to see that they are gradually closing the gap in points. “The league isn’t over yet, and we still have the FA Cup and the Asian Champions League (ACL). I think the goal is to do well in the remaining games and win the championship,” said Kim Jin-soo, sharing his thoughts on Jeonbuk’s goals.
Meanwhile, Jürgen Klinsmann visited the stadium that day. Kim Jin-soo was unaware of the news and said he first heard about it when they were talking in the mix zone. Klinsmann is expected to bring in some new faces for the June A-match call-up, but many expect Kim to be locked into the left fullback spot.
But Kim said there is no such thing as a given. “Every time the roster comes out, I’ve never thought that I’m always going to be on the roster. You have to do well in your club team to make the national team. You also have to play the kind of soccer the coach wants to see to get a chance. I’m working hard for my club, so if I get the chance, I’d love to play for my country again,” he said with humility.