Professional soccer K League 1 side Jeonbuk Hyundai kept their hopes of reaching the round of 16 in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League (ACL) alive by beating Kitsch SC (Hong Kong) despite being outnumbered.
Jeonbuk overcame the disadvantage of Chung Tae-wook’s 45th-minute sending-off to earn a hard-fought 2-1 victory in the fifth leg of their 2023-2024 ACL Group F match at Hong Kong Stadium in Hong Kong on Monday.
With three wins and two losses (9 points), Jeonbuk remained in second place with a one-point lead over leaders Bangkok United (10 points), who have played one game less. Kitchee (1 point) is last.
Jeonbuk took an early lead within two minutes of the first half kickoff.
Lee Dong-joon’s cross from the right flank found Baek Seung-ho at the front of the goal area, but when he couldn’t get a shot off, he pulled the ball back and it found its way to Moon Sun-min, who beat Park Jae-yong,
Moon Sun-min rattled the Kitsch net with a quick right-footed shot from the front of the goal area.
Jeonbuk wasted a crucial scoring opportunity in the 28th minute when Park Seung-ho’s powerful left-footed shot from the edge of the penalty area hit the right post of the Kitsch goal.
After failing to capitalize on their chances, Jeonbuk scored another goal in the 38th minute through a one-man show by Song Min-gyu.
Song Min-gyu pressured Kitsch defender Andy Russell to steal the ball and rush to the goal, then finished with a right-footed shot from the front of the penalty area.
Jeonbuk was caught out of sorts in the 45th minute when central defender Jung Tae-wook was shown a red card and sent off.
After the goalkeeper failed to get a first touch on a long aerial ball, Chung pushed down the onrushing Ruslan Mingazov, and the referee immediately ordered Chung to leave the field for denying a crucial goal opportunity.
Jeonbuk, who started the second half with 10 men, nearly broke the deadlock in the 13th minute when a deflected ball hit the body of central defender Hong Jeong-ho and went into the net, but goalkeeper Kim Jeong-hoon flung himself to make the save.
Kitchee finally got the equalizer in the 34th minute.
Clayton’s cross from the right side of the penalty area was chested down by Michael, and Jakob Janzer slotted home with his right foot from the edge of the area.
Jeonbuk, who managed to hold off a late attack from Kitchee, was unlucky not to see Lee Jun-ho’s right-footed shot from the penalty spot hit the post in stoppage time.
At the Pohang Steelyard, Pohang Steelers won their fifth Group J match at home against Hanoi FC (Vietnam) 2-0.
Pohang (15 points), who booked their spot in the Round of 16 with four straight wins in their last four matches, extended their winning streak to five games, while Hanoi (1 point) remained in last place.
After failing to capitalize on Hanoi’s early resistance, Pohang took the lead on a penalty kick.
In the 31st minute, Hong Yun-sang was tripped by a Hanoi defender while rushing to the left side of the penalty area, and the referee awarded a penalty kick. In the 33rd minute, Lee Ho-jae took the kick and converted with a right-footed shot.
Hong Yun-sang, who drew the penalty kick, was unfortunate in the 41st minute when he received a pass from Yoon Min-ho and drove to the left side of the penalty area, but his right-footed shot narrowly missed the right side of the Hanoi goal.
With the score at 1-0 at the half, Pohang ended Hanoi’s hopes of a comeback eight minutes into the second half when Ha Chang-rae raced to the right side of the goal from a corner kick on the left by Kim Jun-ho and scored with his head.
Pohang was unable to find a third goal in the 30th minute as Han Chan-hee’s right-footed shot from the edge of the penalty area hit the right post of the Hanoi goal. 온라인카지노
