Stefan Mugosa, the ‘blue and black’ finisher, is back. After playing in Japan’s J-League, the striker switched back to the blue-and-black stripes of K League One’s Incheon United midseason, scoring a goal and providing an assist in just his second game back in the K League.
After Mugosa’s opener, Incheon scored back-to-back goals from Moon Ji-hwan and Jerso to earn a 3-1 home win over Daegu FC, who recovered from a goal by Sejingya in the 26th round of the league at the Incheon Football Stadium on Wednesday. With 36 points, Incheon (29) are in seventh place, level on points with Daejeon Hana Citizens (39) but behind on goal difference.
Incheon’s upward trend of four wins and a draw in their last five matches was halted by a 0-2 loss to Jeonbuk Hyundai on Nov. 6.
However, Mugosa’s performance on the day raised hopes of a top-six finish in the second half.
Mugosa’s offerings shone from the start. He would drop the ball to a teammate with a header, hold it up, or move the ball close to the opposition goal with a quality change of direction pass.
Mugosa’s goal came in the 23rd minute of the first half. On a free kick, the ball was poorly cleared by an opponent, and Gerso defended it well with his back to the goal before laying it off to Mugosa, who rattled the net with a sensational right-footed curling shot. It’s been a year and two months since Mugosa scored a goal in the K League, the last time being against Gangwon FC on June 22 last year when he scored a hat trick.
There was also a lucky goal. In the 32nd minute, Moon Ji-hwan’s header from a corner kick deflected off Daegu’s Hong Chul and into the net.
In first-half stoppage time, Gerso was the solution, linking up perfectly with Mugosha. On a counterattack, Jerso attacked from the waist and exchanged passes with Mugosha to find himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper before slamming home a left-footed shot to make it 3-0.
Incheon continued to dominate until midway through the second half. Incheon even took Mugosa and Jerso off in the 23rd minute of the second half to give themselves a bit of a rest. Daegu had to settle for a point in the 37th minute when Sejingya converted a penalty kick after a foul by Incheon.
“It was a great game today, and I’m especially happy to come back and record a goal and an assist in a home game,” said Mugosa, who was 바카라 named player of the match, in a post-match interview. “I want to thank the home fans and those who believed in me.”
Daejeon Hana Citizens defeated FC Seoul 4-3 at Anbang in a seven-goal thriller. Fourth-place Seoul remained winless in four matches (two draws and two losses) with 39 points.
Second-place Pohang Steelers drew 1-1 at home against Gwangju FC after Ko Young-joon opened the scoring in the 20th minute, but Timo equalized in the 22nd minute.