Jeju United’s Song Joo-hoon credited Kim Hak-beom with the victory.
Jeju won 1-0 thanks to Song Joo-hoon’s winning goal in the 35th round of the K League 1 2024 between Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors and Hana Bank at 4:30 p.m. on the 27th at Jeju World Cup Stadium. At the same time, as Gwangju FC lost to Incheon United, Jeju jumped to seventh place, and only one point remained until it was confirmed to remain on its own.
The victory was attributed to the concentration and determination of all players. After neutralizing Jeonbuk’s offense by taking its defense thickly throughout the first half, Jeju replaced Nam Tae-hee and Lee Hae-ro in the second half to pull the reins of its offense, and created a goal through the first and last corner kick given in the 26th minute of the second half to secure the victory. Song Ju-hoon, who reported his first goal in about a year and seven months since the match against FC Seoul in March last year, shared joy with his home fans.
Song could have felt proud, but he was humble. He was shy, saying, “As everyone united and moved as one team, we were able to secure three points.” Coach Kim Hak-beom, who thoroughly prepared Jeonbuk customization strategies, also said, “He is like the best contributor to the victory.” His smile did not go away from Song, who was selected as the official player after the game. It was a telling sign of the good mood within the team. 스포츠토토
“We were relatively high in the final B team, but we couldn’t be relieved,” said Song Joo-hoon, who faced the reporters. “The match against Jeonbuk was a really important game, and I’m happy to secure three points,” he said. “I’m grateful for the fans’ support for the team, both home and away, even though the conditions are not good due to the nature of the team located on the island. They always supported me even when my performance was not good. I feel good because I feel like I’m able to repay you by winning consecutive games at the end.”
Asked to look back on the 90th minute of the match against Jeonbuk, he said, “Actually, before the match, head coach Kim Hak-beom expected me to score a goal as a set piece. I don’t know if he really knew he would score a goal. (Laughs) “The goal went in as I practiced,” he recalled. “No one was close to me. I don’t know if he underestimated me. Thanks to this, I was able to put my head on the set in a free situation and scored a goal.”
“The defenders communicated a lot with the midfielders. We talked about who was going to cover when the defender’s position was empty. There were a lot of things that didn’t go well in the first half, but the revision went well at half-time. We worked hard with the mindset of leading and helping each other even though we were focusing on each other,” he said, revealing his secret to victory.