Gangwon FC, led by Yoon Jeong-hwan (50), aims to make history and turn around the second half of the season.
The bottom of professional soccer’s K League 1 has changed hands once again. Gangwon earned a 2-0 victory over Ulsan Hyundai in the 26th round of the K League 1 at Gangneung Sports Complex on April 12. Kangwon scored goals from Shin Min-woo in the first half and Yago in the second half to knock out the ‘first place’ Ulsan.
With the win, Gangwon picked up three points for the first time since April 29 against Jeonbuk Hyundai. It also snapped a long 16-match winless streak (seven draws and nine losses). Coach Yoon Jeong-hwan also tasted his first win after five draws and two losses since his appointment on June 15. His first win as a manager in seven years was especially noteworthy because it came against his hometown team, first-place Ulsan. It was also the first time Gangwon, which was founded in 2008, had beaten Ulsan in a league home game. With the win, Gangwon climbed back into 11th place in the league (W11 D12 L20). It was a night where history was literally made.
Against Ulsan, Gangwon showed that they could not be pushed around. Despite losing possession, they were far superior in shots and shots on target. Kangwon had 11 of their 19 shots on goal. Only two of Ulsan’s seven shots were on target, a significant difference. The gap could have been even wider if it wasn’t for the saves by Ulsan goalkeeper Cho Hyun-woo. It was literally a game of efficient counterattacks.카지노사이트
Two months ago, coach Yoon Jeong-hwan said, “Gangwon is often perceived as a defensive team. Even so, it would have been nice to be more efficient on the counterattack. It’s not about ball possession, but about scoring goals as quickly as possible to get the result (victory).” In fact, Shin Min-woo, who scored the game’s first goal on a counterattack in the first half, explained to a reporter after the game, “I promised myself that I would not just try to defend (the first goal), but would try to score more goals.”
Coach Yoon Jung-hwan was appointed midseason and lost ace Yang Hyun-joon (Celtic) to the team, but he kept his promise and pulled off an upset to beat top-ranked Ulsan. The fans at the stadium were moved to tears and shared their joy with the team.
The results of Round 26 further narrowed the gap between Suwon FC, Gangwon, and Suwon Samsung, who have been at the bottom of the league this season (10th-12th). This means that the last place name could change depending on the outcome of each match. At the same time, the bottom three teams have all made a turnaround in the second half of the season. It’s going to be a tight race for the top spot in K League 1.