The “defending champion” Pohang Steelers and “soccer prestigious” Suwon Samsung will compete for a ticket to the quarterfinals of the Korea Cup (formerly FA Cup), where they will meet without their rank.
Pohang, the first division of the K-League 1, and Suwon, the second division of the K-League 2, will have a showdown at Pohang Steelyard at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at the fourth round (round of 16) of the 2024 Hana Bank Korea Cup. They are showdowns in which pride is at stake. Pohang and Suwon have lifted the trophy five times in total. This is the record of most wins in the competition. Only three teams, including the two teams, Jeonbuk Hyundai, have won five times.
Both teams desperately need a change of atmosphere. For starters, Pohang has failed to display a congratulatory shot at home for three consecutive games since it brought Jeonbuk to its home turf on April 4 to clinch a 1-0 win. It had three draws to secure a point, but fell to third place (30 points), lagging behind Ulsan HD (32 points) and Gangwon FC (31 points).
In the 17th round home game against Hana Citizen in Daejeon on the 15th, Lee Dong-hee’s own goal gave the first goal, but Heo Yong-joon’s equalizer avoided defeat in the winter. He was hampered by the “lack of decision-making” that coach Park Tae-ha is concerned about recently, with only one goal despite hitting 16 shots (4 effective shots).
Coach Park, who took the helm of Pohang ahead of this season, is leading the team by maintaining excellent offense and defense balance despite “concerns” over his sense of play in games, but his scores have decreased and his number of runs has increased since he entered the second round Robin. He has 18 goals and eight goals in 11 matches in the first round, while six goals and eight goals have been lost in the six matches in the second round so far. It is time to revive solid defense and offensive firepower based on the four-back he displayed at the beginning of the season.
In addition, Pohang is aiming for its second consecutive championship for the first time in 11 years since 2012-2013. In the history of the Korea Cup, only Jeonnam Dragons (2006-2007), Suwon (2009-2010) and Pohang have won consecutive championships. 안전놀이터
In contrast, Suwon has also shown poor performance in recent months. Since Coach Yeom Ki-hoon stepped down last month, the two matches that he has played since Byun Sung-hwan took the helm have ended in a draw. Suwon, which was humiliatingly humiliating its first “delegation” in the first division last season, is now in a slump as it has failed to secure victory in its eighth game (three draws and five losses) in the second division as well. It is now sixth with 21 points, falling behind the bottom of the promotion Maginot Line of 5th place.
The Korea Cup is the largest cup competition in Korea, covering professionals and amateurs from the K League 1 and K League 2, semi-professional K3 and K4 leagues, and amateur K5 leagues, and Suwon will face the K League 1 team for the first time in about half a year. Although the pride of a prestigious club is crumpled, it is necessary to revive the good memory of Kim Joo-chan’s winning goal in October last year, when he recently faced Pohang.