Ulsan HD defeated Gyeongnam FC on penalties at home.Ulsan drew 4-4 with Gyeongnam after 120 minutes of hard-fought action in the fourth round (Round of 16) of the 2024 Hana Bank Korea Cup, which kicked off at 7pm on June 19th at Munsu Football Stadium. In the ensuing penalty shootout, Ulsan triumphed 3-0 thanks to goalkeeper Moon Hyun-ho's heroic saves to advance to the fifth round (quarter-finals), where they will face Incheon United.The home team Ulsan played the zero-top card. Kim Min-hyeok started up front, with Kelvin and Lee Chung-yong on the left and right sides of the attack. Kim Min-woo, Lee Gyu-sung, Lee Jae-wook, and Choi Kang-min lined up in midfield, while Park Sang-jun, Lim Jong-eun, and Hong Jae-seok formed the back three. Moon Hyun-ho secured the rearguard.The away team Gyeongnam also lined up in a 3-4-3. Yoo Joon-ha, Cho Hyang-gi, and Cho Sang-jun started as a trio up top, with Lee Min-gi, Lee Min-hyeok, Do Dong-hyun, and Seo Jae-won providing support behind them. Park Jae-hwan, Kim Hyoung-won and Lee Kwang-seon made up the defence, with Goh Dong-min wearing the keeper’s gloves.Ulsan dominated possession early in the first half, but failed to create any decisive chances.After a tense opening 15 minutes, Gyeongnam struck first with a surprise goal. Cho Sang-jun dribbled through the Ulsan defence and found the net with a left-footed shot from just inside the arc.After conceding, Ulsan quickly regrouped and went on the attack. Gyeongnam focused on defence, forming a strong defensive block as Ulsan's attack intensified. After pouncing on a second ball, Lee Chung-yong's left-footed shot from inside the area deflected off goalkeeper Goh Dong-min and into defender Lee Min-gi. In the process, the referee pointed to the penalty spot and showed Lee the red card for using his left arm to deny a clear scoring opportunity. Lee Chung-yong took the spot kick and scored with a right-footed finish in the 42nd minute.The first half ended 1-1.At the start of the second half, Ulsan brought on Joo Min-kyu and Ataru and rested Kim Min-hyeok and Park Sang-jun. With the numerical advantage, Ulsan attacked strongly on several occasions.Gyeongnam responded with a triple substitution in the 60th minute, with Cho Hyang-gi, Seo Jae-won, and Do Dong-hyeon making way for Lee Jong-eon, Lee Jun-jae, and Kim Jin-rae. Ulsan bolstered their midfield with Bojanic taking the place of Lee Jae-wook, who headed back to the bench.In the 62nd minute, Gyeongnam took the lead again. Lee Min-hyuk beat four defenders at once in the Ulsan arc and drove into the box. As goalkeeper Moon Hyun-ho came out to narrow the angle, Lee successfully clipped a left-footed shot over him and into the goal.Ulsan resumed their attack. Chances for Kim Min-woo in the 66th minute and Lee Gyu-sung in the 67th both came to nothing. Eventually, Ulsan made a decisive substitution by bringing on Um Won-sang in the 68th minute, with Choi Kang-min leaving the field. Gyeongnam replaced the scorer of the first goal, Cho Sang-jun, with Seol Hyun-jin.Ulsan pushed hard for an equalizer and in the 73rd minute, Joo Min-kyu had two shots on goal blocked by the opposition defence. The team kept pounding away and were finally rewarded with the equaliser. In the 75th minute, Ataru received a pass from Bojanic and found the back of the net with a powerful left-footed mid-range shot.With the momentum in their favour, Ulsan went on the offensive and broke the deadlock in the 79th minute. Lee Gyu-sung played a cheeky pass with the sole of his foot inside the Gyeongnam penalty box, and Um Won-sang rattled the net with an instant right-footed shot. Having taken the lead, Ulsan brought off Kelvin in the 80th minute and introduced Yun Il-lok.Despite their numerical disadvantage, Gyeongnam did not give up. In the 84th minute, Lee Jong-eon equalised again with a right-footed shot from inside the Ulsan penalty area.Both teams did everything they could to win the game in normal time, but in the end neither side were able to find a winner in the 90 minutes, prompting extra time.Ulsan strengthened their defence at the start of the extra period with the introduction of veteran Kim Kee-hee. He replaced Hong Jae-seok, who was making his first start. Ulsan's continued to attack with their one-man advantage.However, Gyeongnam's fearsome backline was stronger. In the 12th minute of the first period of extra time, Seol Hyun-jin scored another goal with a left-footed shot from the arc in front of Ulsan’s goal. In response, Ulsan showed their determination to win by launching a wave of attacks, and eventually breached the defence to score. In the 10th minute of the second period, Kim Min-woo scored with a first-time shot from just inside the box after Goh Dong-min had punched away a cross.Despite Ulsan continuing to attack until the end of extra time, they were unable to find the back of the net, leading to a penalty shootout. In the shootout, other than Bojanic, Ulsan scored all of their penalties, with successful strikes from Joo Min-kyu, Um Won-sang and Ataru. In addition, goalkeeper Moon Hyun-ho saved all three of his opponent's spot kicks to secure a 3-0 victory for Ulsan.

2024-06-21UHFC556

Joo Min-kyu scored his 5th goal of the season as Ulsan HD recorded a draw at home against FC Seoul.Despite taking the lead through Joo Min-kyuand an own goal, Ulsan had to settle fora 2-2 draw at home with FC Seoul in their Hana Bank K League 1 2024 17th round home game,which kicked off at 6pm on the 16th atMunsu Football Stadium, after two goals from Stanislav Iljutcenko.With this draw, Ulsan regained the lead of the title race after only one day, and now have 32 points from nine wins, five draws and three losses. Seoul, meanwhile, remain in ninth place with 18 points from four wins, six draws and seven losses.Home side Ulsan set up in a 4-3-3 formation, with Kang Yun-gu, Joo Min-kyu, and Um Won-sang in attack, andBojanic, Ataru, and Ko Seung-beomstarting in midfield. Lee Myung-jae, Lim Jong-eun, Kim Kee-hee and Yun Il-lok formed the back four, with Jo Hyeon-woo donning the goalkeeper’s gloves.The visitors lined up in a 4-4-1-1, withIljutcenko startingon his own up top and Lingard providing support from behind. Lee Seung-joon, Lee Seung-mo, Ryu Jae-moon, and Han Seung-gyustartedin the middle, while Lee Tae-seok, Park Seong-hoon, Kwon Wan-kyu, and Kang Sang-woo formed the back four. Baek Jong-beom was the last line of defence.Ulsan took the lead in only the first minute of the game. After intercepting Kwon Wan-kyu's pass, Joo Min-kyufeinted once and scored with a right-footed mid-range shot from just insideSeoul’spenalty arc.After a shaky start to the first half, Seoul began to fight back. In the 12th minute, Lee Seung-joon broke into the Ulsan penalty box and his shot was blocked by Jo Hyeon-woo. Moments later, Iljutcenko’s header from Kang Sang-woo’s cross ended up in the goalkeeper’s arms. In the 21st minute, Kang Sang-woo sent a left-footed mid-range shot straight at Jo Hyeon-woo.Having been taken aback by Seoul’s salvo, Ulsan then tightened the reins of their own attack. In the 23rd minute, Um Won-sang used his pace to make a break down the Seoul flank before sending in a cross that was caught by Seoul goalkeeper Baek Jong-beom. Both sides then took turns to trade blows, however Ulsan got lucky with an own goal in the 42nd minute when Lee Myung-jae drove down the Seoul flank and sent in a sharp left-footed cross that hit Lee Tae-seokand went into the back of the net. As a result, Ulsan ended the first half with a two-goal lead.At the start of the second half, Ulsan restedKang Yun-gu and Bojanicto bring on Kim Min-woo and Lee Gyu-sung. Seoul played their hand by taking off Lee Tae-seok and Lee Seung-joon for Choi Jun and Willian.Six minutes into the second half, Seoul’spursuit of the comeback was ignited. Choi Jun broke down the Ulsan flank and sent in a low cross with his right foot. Iljutcenko beat Kim Ki-heeto the ball at the near post, stretching to squeeze the ball in to the goal.In the 56th minute, Seoul brought on Shigehiro for the bandaged Lee Seung-mo. Seoul’s spirit was revitalized and in the 63rd minute, Lingard's sudden mid-range shot was saved by Jo Hyeon-woo.Ulsan brought on Lee Chung-yong for Um Won-sang in the 65th minute to add experience andUlsan's attack began to look sharper.In the 69th minute, during a scramble in front of goal, Ko Seung-beom’s pass foundJooMin-kyu but his curling right-footedshot was blocked by an opponent.Seoul made a change to their attack in the 74th minute, taking off Han Seung-gyu and bringing on Lim Sang-hyub. The move paid off. In the 77th minute, Iljutcenkosuccessfullyheaded home Lim Sang-hyub’s cross.In the 79th minute, Ulsan introduced Kim Min-hyeok, withAtaruheading back to the bench. In the 83rd minute, Ulsan launched a quick counterattack. Kim Min-woo cut the ball back to Kim Min-hyeok, who took a right-footed shot,but his effort was denied by the defender.Seoul brought on Park Dong-jin in the 86th minute and Ulsan brought on Choi Kang-min in the 87th. In the eighth minute of stoppage time, Yun Il-lok's decisive mid-range shot sailed into the arms of Baek Jong-beom. Just before the final whistle, Kim Min-woo'scrucial cross also came to nothing. Despite a fierce battle, no other goals could be scored and both teams shared a point.

2024-06-17UHFC247