| Daegu FC, a professional soccer team, celebrates after winning the 2022 ACL Group F Game 6 match against the Lion City Sailors 2-1 at Buriram Stadium in Thailand on the 30th of last month to qualify for the round of 16. |
Daegu FC, which rewritten the club’s history by successfully advancing to the ACL (Asian Football Confederation Champions League) round of 16 for two consecutive years, wants to continue its upward trend in the K-League.
Daegu won 2-1 against Lion City Sailors (Singapore/Lion City) in the 2022 ACL Group F Group F match held at Buriram Stadium in Thailand on the 30th (Korean time) on the 30th (Korean time).
With this, Daegu took the first place in the group with 4 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss, and 13 points, and confirmed their progress to the round of 16. Although the points were the same as Urawa Reds (Japan) in the same group, Daegu took the lead in the opponent’s record (1 win, 1 draw). Daegu, which reached the round of 16 in the ACL last year, has advanced to the round of 16 for two consecutive seasons, and is aiming for the first time in history at the tournament to be resumed in August.
Daegu, who previously had 1 win and 1 draw against Urawa, was pushed to the brink of being eliminated if they failed to defeat Lion City after a 4-0 defeat to Shandong Taishan (China) in Game 5. Shanghai Port FC in Group J could not compete in the tournament due to the Chinese government’s Corona 19 policy, and in the aftermath, when comparing the results between the 2nd place in 5 East Asian groups, the record with the bottom of each group is excluded.
Daegu, who was humiliated by a 0-3 loss in their first meeting (April 18), vowed to fight for Lion City, but was dragged away with a ‘wonder goal’ by Song Eui-young from Korea in the 25th minute of the first half.
In the second half, Daegu’s choice of replacing politicians and Ahn Yong-woo with Kim Hee-seung and Lee Geun-ho was correct. In the 8th minute of the second half, Hong-Chul Hong finished the cross, and Lee Geun-Ho finished it to make it 1-1.
Daegu caught a glimpse of the reverse, but was stopped by a sudden heavy rain. The game was halted in the 19th minute of the second half due to water accumulating throughout the stadium. After ground reorganization, the match resumed, and in the 33rd minute of the second half, Jeka scored a penalty kick from Kim Jin-hyeok and Daegu won 2-1.
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| Spectators gathered at DGB Daegu Bank Park, the home stadium of Daegu FC, are cheering for development. |
Daegu, which passed the group stage with fighting spirit despite difficult conditions, wants to extend its upward trend in the K-League.
Coach Gama said, “(At the ACL) we played a lot of good games. The most important thing is that we made a ‘connection’. We got to understand each other better with the players and gained confidence. I will continue the atmosphere in the league.”
Daegu, which has fallen to 10th place with 2 wins, 2 draws and 5 losses, and 8 points, will meet Suwon Samsung at home on the 8th after the away Pohang Steelers on the 5th of this month. Pohang is in third place (4 wins, 3 draws, 2 losses, 15 points), and the away from Pohang is not always easy. Suwon Samsung is one notch below Daegu with 1 win, 4 draws, 4 losses, and 7 points, but it is clear that Lee Byung-geun, who took office recently, will be fully prepared to defeat his parent Daegu.
Jeka, who scored 6 goals in the ACL, is the key. As Edgar left the team due to an injury and Sejinya was unable to play due to an injury, Daegu, whose solver disappeared, can only see a rebound when Jeka has a presence in the league.
Now, after three seasons, the crowd’s shouts are set to resound in the soccer field. Daepak (DGB Daegu Bank Park) trademark ‘Kung Kung-Gol’ is also returning. Expectations are high whether Daegu, who was aiming for the league championship this year, will regain that ambition with the cheers of the crowd.
Correspondent Choi Si-woong [email protected]
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