Jeonbuk Hyundai and Pohang Steelers, looking to take a step up, face off for three points.
Jeonbuk and Pohang will meet at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 21 at Pohang Steel Yard in the 24th round of the K League 1.
After 23 games played side by side, Pohang is in second place with 11 wins, 8 draws and 4 losses and 41 points. Jeonbuk is fourth with 11 wins, four draws and eight losses and 37 points.
Jeonbuk has been on a roll lately. They are unbeaten in five official matches (four wins and one draw) after a quarterfinal win over Gwangju in the Korea Football Association (FA) Cup. Under new head coach Dan Petrescu, who took over on March 9, the team is quickly finding its ‘Jeonbuk-ness’. During their unbeaten run, Jeonbuk has scored a whopping 11 goals.
Despite the recent departure of Cho Kyu-sung to Europe, Jeonbuk’s second half comeback began with a strong attacking second line of Baek Seung-ho, Moon Sun-min and Lee Dong-joon.
After bringing in 2-meter defender Tomasz Petrasek and active midfielder Nana Boateng, Jeonbuk also acquired defender Ahn Hyun-beom in a trade with Jeju United on the 18th. On the 20th, they added Asian Games striker Park Jae-yong from FC Anyang and forward Yoon Do-won from Jeonju University.
Petrescu’s third signing, Ahn Hyun-beom, was called up to the national team for the first time in June and made his debut in a friendly against Peru. The addition of Ahn, who can play in any position on the right side of the field, gives Jeonbuk more depth on the flank.
Jeonbuk has not won against Pohang this season, having recorded two wins and a draw last season.
Pohang took both wins in the previous two meetings. So far this year, Pohang is the only team to hand Jeonbuk two losses.
Pohang has been scoring goals from a variety of players lately. In four games in July, Grant and Zeca each scored two goals, while Han Chan-hee, Go Young-joon, Wandelsson, and Kim Seung-dae also found the back of the net.
The hot weather hasn’t diminished Pohang’s stamina, but it has revitalized their fierce backline. In the previous match against Jeju in Round 23, they came back from a 1-2 deficit to win 4-2. 안전놀이터
The performance of Pohang’s foreign players is especially good. Zeca leads the team in offensive points with five goals and six assists, while Grant has scored a whopping four goals despite being a defender.
With the momentum going their way, Pohang will look to add three more points to their tally and catch up to first-place Ulsan (53 points), who have recently lost back-to-back games.