K리그1・2의 최신 소식을 모두 확인 할 수 있는 공간입니다.
Pohang Steelers will tackle Nagoya Grampus in their final AFC Champions League Group G encounter on Wednesday. The Steelers played out a frustrating goalless draw against Ratchaburi Mitr Phol in their previous match. Alex Grant missed a golden opportunity to break the deadlock when he blazed over, when it looked easier to score than miss. In the second half, Lee Seung-mo struck the woodwork with a free header. Ultimately, Pohang had 25 shots on goal, with just one of them being on target in the entire match.
Nagoya Grampus continued their relentless run with a 2-1 victory over Johor Darul Ta’zim. Mateus was brought down in the box, and the Brazilian dusted himself up to slot the ball home from 12 yards out in just the 4th minute of the match. This was followed by a wonderful strike from Hiroyuki Abe. The forward curled the ball home from just outside the area to double his team’s lead in the 28th minute. However, the Malaysian outfit did pull a goal back before the halftime break. A long range strike was pushed away right into the feet of Ramadhan Saifullah and he made no mistake from close range. It was the first goal that the J1 League side had conceded this campaign. That is how things would finish in the match, as Nagoya picked up another three points to confirm their status as group winners.
Hence, with Nagoya having sealed their place in the knockout stages, the onus will be on Pohang to produce a good performance. The Japanese side might rest some of their regular starters in this game. Irrespective of that, three points are a must for the Steelers at the Rajamangala Stadium. They will now aim to finish as one of the best second-placed teams, and a win could prove to be extremely pivotal in that regard.
Jeonbuk took a significant step towards progression on Sunday evening as they saw off Singapore Premier League side Tampines Rovers for the second time in four days and moved four points clear at the top of the group. Fielding a rotated lineup from their first encounter, Jeonbuk took the lead through a fortuitous header from Stanislav Iljutcenko in the first half before the Green Warriors would press on in the second, making full use of their man advantage after Rovers' Yasir Hanapi was shown a red card. Jeonbuk substitutes Gustavo and Barrow would add to the scoreline either side of an Iljutcenko second to see the K League Champions chalk up a 4-0 victory and put them within a win of the knockout phases with two games to play.
The first of these two opportunities will come against Chiangrai United on Wednesday evening. The Thai FA Cup winners head into this match after back-to-back 1-1 draws with Gamba Osaka but know the threat the K League side pose having lost to them 2-1 in the opening round. Manager Kim Sang-sik is expected to field a strong lineup to guarantee progression quickly, with players like goalkeeper Lee Bum-young, defenders Lee Yong and Kim Min-hyeok, plus striker and tournament top scorer Gustavo predicted to be reinstated to the first eleven.
Ulsan Hyundai could book their place in the last 16 with a win over Viettel FC this Thursday evening. The Horangi currently sit top of Group F with a maximum haul of 12 points from four games. However, they were made to work hard for their victory over Kaya FC of the Philippines last Monday. Another rotated Ulsan side got their noses in front in the first half thanks to a fortuitous deflection off Yoon Bit-garam’s face, but they were soon reduced to ten men when Kim Min-jun saw red for dangerous play. Kaya FC made the most of their man advantage and equalised early in the second half, but Yoon restored the reigning champion’s lead just minutes later with a sublime half volley.
Now with just two games remaining, Hong Myung-bo’s goal will be to ensure Ulsan take top spot in the group -- something victory over Viettel would pretty much guarantee. Hong is expected to recall his first-choice defensive line-up with Dave Bulthuis and Kim Ki-hee in front of goalkeeper Jo Hyeon-woo. At the other end of the pitch, Valeri Qazaishvilli returns from suspension while Lee Chung-yong may be fit enough to replace Kim Min-jun on the right wing.
Meanwhile, it is fair to say Ulsan’s opponents Viettel FC have had varying success in their debut ACL campaign. The Vietnamese champions were minutes away from taking points from the Horangi in their opening game and followed that up with a 5-0 thrashing of Kaya FC. However, two defeats in the vital games against BG Pathum United rooted them firmly in third spot in the group, meaning they go into Thursday night’s match with nothing to play for other than pride.
