Coach Lee Min-seong (50), who leads Daejeon Hana Citizen and is a hero of the Tokyo Battle, defended national team center back Cho Yu-min, who allowed conceding points due to poor defense.
Daejeon lost 2-3 after a slugfest in the Pohang Steelers away game in the ‘Hana 1 Q K League 1 2023’ held at Pohang Steel Yard on the 13th.
Daejeon, which faced Pohang in front of 7,002 spectators that day, struggled to equalize twice, but finally bowed its head after conceding a theatrical goal in extra time in the second half.
Daejeon allowed striker Baek Sung-dong to take the lead in the 6th minute of the second half, and then national team defender Jo Yoo-min’s header equalized just 2 minutes later from a free kick.
In the 20th minute of the second half, he allowed defender Grant to take the lead again from a corner kick, but Jeon Byung-gwan, a rookie born in 2002, made the score 2-2 with a mid-range wonder goal in the 31st minute of the second half.
Daejeon, who scored twice in the equalizer, was on the verge of a point in the away game in Pohang, but gave away the winning goal to Ko Young-jun in extra time in the second half.
In the end, Daejeon suffered an unfortunate 2-3 defeat, giving Pohang all three points and the third place in the league.
With 23 points (6 wins, 5 draws, 2 losses), Pohang overtook Daejeon to rise to 3rd place in the league, while Daejeon maintained 21 points (6 wins, 3 draws, 4 losses) and dropped one notch down to 4th place.
After the game, coach Lee said at a press conference, “I am grateful to the players who came on the road and fought until the end. I even had the power to chase 2-2, but it is regrettable that I could not overcome or reverse it.”
He added, “The points I lost are due to mistakes, so it’s my job to adjust and prepare well.”
Coach Lee defended Jo Yoo-min, who played a rather disappointing defense in the scene of Go Yeong-joon’s theater goal. At that time, Cho Yoo-min failed to prevent the third run as he missed Go Yeong-jun, who rushed into the penalty box to receive Lee Ho-jae’s penetrating pass.
Regarding this scene, coach Lee said, “I wonder if there is a player who doesn’t make mistakes while defending.” .
Coach Lee was a great defender who played 247 games in the K-League during his active career. He also appeared in 67 A-matches with the Taegeuk mark on the Korean national soccer team.
In particular, in the 1998 France World Cup Asian final qualifier held in Tokyo, Japan in 1997, he achieved a come-from-behind victory 2-1 with a mid-range shot and was praised as a hero of the ‘Tokyo Battle’.
Regarding Jeon Byeong-gwan, who scored the Wonder Goal, he praised him, saying, “I usually tell you to be comfortable. There have been many scoring chances in the meantime, but I have not scored a goal, but I am looking forward to the future and I think he will play a big role as I scored a goal today after the match against Suwon FC.”스포츠토토
On the 10th, in the 12th round of the league against Suwon, Jeon Byeong-gwan, who scored an additional goal with a single dribble in a counterattack situation and led to a 2-1 victory, succeeded in scoring two consecutive matches with a wonder goal against Pohang.
Lastly, coach Lee showed his trust in the team, saying, “I think the fact that we lost and chased was an improvement. I believe that the players will grow to the next level with today’s game.”
Although it is a promoted team, Daejeon, which is on the rise at the beginning of the season and is competing for the top ranks, and coach Lee will invite Daegu FC to his home on the 20th to play the 14th round of the league.
Daejeon lost 0-1 in the 8th round Daegu expedition held on the 22nd of last month.