“Incheon played much better than us. I think (Incheon) deserved to win the game.”
Daegu FC lost 1-3 to Incheon United in the 26th round of the Hana OneQ K League 1 2023 at the Incheon Football Stadium at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The loss ended Daegu’s five-match winless streak (three draws and two losses) and left them in ninth place with eight wins, 10 losses and eight draws (34 points).
They conceded three goals in the first half alone. In the 23rd minute, Incheon successfully pressed forward and the ball was played into the Daegu penalty box. After winning a contest with a defender, Gerso slipped it to his left foot. Mugosa immediately took care of it with an exquisite right-footed shot, and the ball went through the goalkeeper’s hands and into the goal. Next, in the 32nd minute, Lee Myung-joo handled a corner kick and the promised set piece was played. Moon Ji-hwan rushed to the back of the penalty box and sent a header into the box. The ball deflected off Hong Chul and in.
Then, in the first minute of first-half stoppage time, Incheon counterattacked. Jerso broke free on the dribble and found Mugosa, who played a through ball into the box, where he found the back of the net with a calm finish into the far corner of the net. The deficit was avoided. In the 38th minute, Keita was tripped inside the penalty box after exchanging one-on-one passes with Beltola. The referee awarded a penalty kick (PK) and Sejingya stepped up to take the spot kick, finishing in the bottom left corner.
Coach Choi Won-kwon said, “Incheon played much better than us, and I think they deserved to win. I think the lack of fitness of our defenders was a disadvantage, and I think Incheon took advantage of that. Our players didn’t give up until the end. Scoring a goal and losing a game allows us to prepare for the next game against Seoul. We can’t keep scoring goals and winning games. We will find a different way to prepare.”
Regarding the three first-half goals, he added: “We’ll have to review the set-pieces, but our back three didn’t give us any balance today. We didn’t control Mugosa and Jerso in the middle and I think we got beaten by them. On the flip side, I think Mugosa and Jerso and Lee Myung-joo and Kim Do-hyuk did a good job of targeting our weaknesses. (We’re) weak in speed. We seem to be a team that breaks down so easily when we concede an early goal. We need to find a way to compensate for that. We’ve seen that the back three are out of shape. We will find another way.”
The highly anticipated Beltola made a brief appearance. “It was fine,” said Choi Won-kwon. The weather in Korea is very humid and hot. You can’t breathe after one run. He has the creativity we need, and he has the skill. They also seem to have a competitive spirit. I think it’s a good way to utilize him, and we’ll keep giving him chances.”
Daegu travels to FC Seoul next week. Due to the recent Jamboree K-POP concert, there are concerns about the turf conditions. “If the grass 토토사이트 is good, we are at a disadvantage. Everyone knows that. I don’t think Seoul’s turf will recover (by the game). Seoul also needs grass. We can’t think about the grass in Seoul (yet). It’s good to play on a good pitch.”