The 100th league ‘Super Match’ with ‘rival’ Suwon Samsung was a 100-point derby in which FC Seoul took care of both the content and the result.
Seoul caught 3-1 in the 8th round of the ‘Hana 1 Q K League 1 2023’ held at the Seoul World Cup Stadium on the 22nd. It was a super match that was satisfying just by defeating an eternal rival that even ‘Rock, Paper, Scissors’ couldn’t lose by 2 goals. After overcoming the regret of the 1-1 draw against Pohang in the last round, Seoul, which won 3 points that day, recorded 5 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses, with 16 points. On the same day, Ulsan and Pohang took the opportunity to draw 2-2 in the ‘East Coast Derby’, bringing down Pohang (16 points) to a multi-point difference (3 goals) and rising to second place. At the same time, they narrowed the gap with leader Ulsan (19 points) to 3 points. Since the score is tied with 19 goals, it is a position that can go over to the top depending on the result of the next round. Striker Hwang Eui-jo, whose short-term lease expires in June, expressed his aspirations, saying, “I will put Seoul first before leaving.”
For reference, the number of points Seoul won from the opening of last year until the 8th round was only 7 points. Seoul, which suffered from the beginning of the season, confirmed its retention in the final game of the season. Compared to the same period last season, the number of goals doubled from 8 to 16. With the hot attacking soccer, they succeeded in hunting for points that reached 2 points per game. After defeating Daegu in the opening game last year, Seoul fell into a 7-game winless streak. Even at the very beginning of this year, there were hurdles. After consecutive victories in the 1st and 2nd rounds, they suffered their first loss of the season to Ulsan in the 3rd round. After winning against Jeju in the 4th round, he lost in the 5th round against Daejeon Hana. However, Seoul quickly changed the atmosphere and never fell into the swamp of consecutive draws. In the last 7 matches, they recorded win-loss-win-loss-win-draw-win. There was no winning streak, but the fact that there were no consecutive draws resulted in a good result. 스포츠토토
In the Super Match, the content was also substantial. National team winger Na Sang-ho scored the opening goal in the 38th minute of the first half. A left-footed shot aimed at the lower right corner of the goal from a diagonal point on the left inside the box shook the net. With this, Na Sang-ho extended his record of consecutive goals, which started before Daejeon Hana in the 5th round, to 4 games. He set the personal record for the most consecutive goals and rose to the joint lead in scoring. In the 7th minute of the second half, striker Hwang Eui-jo, a national representative of Seoul’s ‘Uee’, scored the long-awaited ‘field debut goal’ after joining Seoul in 8 games. In a corner kick situation, he calmly pushed the ball that came out of the opponent’s body. Hwang Ui-jo and Na Sang-ho, who contributed to Korea’s advancement to the round of 16 at the 2022 Qatar World Cup, always stayed together the day before the home game to increase their concentration. In the 36th minute of the second half, Palosevich put a wedge in the victory. In the 43rd minute of the second half, Suwon Mulich opened the goal, but
Seoul was one of the teams mentioned as candidates for the semifinals along with Ulsan, Jeonbuk, Incheon, Pohang, and Jeju at the media day before the season. It was natural to pick Seoul as a candidate for the semifinals as they have a solid history with many national team players. However, Seoul continued the flow of ‘high share, but not high win rate’ with frustrating U-shaped build-up soccer in the 2022 season. Seoul coach Ahn Ik-soo studied the games of Qatar World Cup champions Argentina and semi-finalist team Morocco, and added quick air-defense transitions and forward pressure to the existing ‘Iksu Ball’. In addition, Hwang Eui-jo, defender Kwon Wan-gyu, Park Soo-il, and playmaker Willian joined the team, expanding the squad depth and increasing available resources. Now, it has transformed into a team that does not shake even if one or two key players are injured, and quickly recovers mentally even if it loses to a promoted team. This is the reason why more steps are expected in the future.