Pohang relieved to see Jung Jae-hee and Shim Sang-min return, coach Kim Ki-dong “will have gained confidence”
Head coach Cho Sung-hwan holds a press conference after the match against Pohang on Tuesday.
Professional soccer K League 1 Incheon United head coach Cho Sung-hwan breathed a deep sigh of relief after facing the “injury
variable” from the start of the final round.
Incheon drew 1-1 with Pohang Steelers in the 34th round of the K League One at Pohang Steel Yard on Tuesday.
After five games without defeat (two wins and three draws), Incheon moved up one spot to fifth place (49 points), but it was far
from a satisfying result as they had to share the points after taking a 1-0 lead in the first half and conceding a late penalty kick equalizer to Zeca.
Even worse than the missed win was the injury to star midfielder Lee Myung-joo.
Lee started the game and played in the middle of the field, but after touching the ball in defense near the end of the first half, he
suddenly raised his hand and fell to the ground.
Soon after, it was reported that he was unable to continue and was replaced by Moon Ji-hwan on the bench.
With midfielder Shin Shin-ho and defender Delbridge already out with injuries, the loss of Lee Myung-joo is a major setback for
Incheon, who have a busy schedule ahead of them with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League (ACL) and
the Korea Football Association (FA) Cup.
Head coach Cho Sung-hwan came to the match wearing a cap on his sweatshirt, with Shin and Delbridge’s numbers, “8” and “20,” emblazoned on
one side of the cap, signaling that their absence would not be short-lived.
After the game, Cho said, “I suspect Lee Myung-joo has a medial ligament injury. We’ll have to get her checked out,” he said,
adding, “I’m more worried about Lee Myung-joo’s injury than the outcome of today’s game.”
“We prepared well for two weeks to get a good result in the Final A, but the result is very disappointing. I wish we could have
scored more goals in the first half,” he reflected.
“They are very organized, so we need to keep our defense to create many chances, but we lost the initiative when we went down
with the lead,” he said, adding, “We need to have the strength to keep playing for the whole 90 minutes.”
“Right after the A-match period, our performance and results were not good. I think today’s game will be a medicine for the ACL
game,” and vowed to do better in the midweek ACL game. 카지노사이트존