Daegu FC avenged a 0-3 defeat in their last meeting in perfect fashion. Daegu recorded their third sellout crowd of the season in front of DGB Daegu Bank Park for their Hana OneQ K League 2023 Round 16 home match against FC Seoul, winning 1-0 thanks to an early goal from Sejingya.
Daegu head coach Choi Won-kwon said, “The players scored and we did a good job of stopping Seoul’s strong offense. We deserve a lot of credit for being able to keep a clean sheet. It’s unfortunate that we couldn’t score more goals on the counterattack. We had a lot of pressure in May because we didn’t win at home, so we’re happy to win the first game of June against a strong team like Seoul,” he smiled.
12,056 fans filled the stadium on the day. After not winning a home game in May, Daegu celebrated their first home game of June with a victory.
Choi said, “Not only me, but also the players have pride. ‘Pride in Daegu’ is our slogan. I think the fans must have liked it. After the big loss in Seoul, I said to the players, ‘Let’s get revenge’ and ‘Let’s pay back’. I’m so thankful that the players kept it. I’m happy for them.”
To the Daegu fans, he said, “I want to bow down to the fans. I’ll try to get a good result in the last game of the season.”
On the term ‘click’ soccer, he said, “You have to take it in a good way. There’s a lot of talk in modern soccer about build-ups, counter-attacks, but we seem to have that click. We need to be more complete. We only scored one goal, so I think it’s more of a click,” he laughed.
Hong Chul entered the game with an injection. He had talked to Choi before the game and had a strong desire to play, so the coach had no choice. It also happened to be ‘Hong Chul Day’.
“I’m very grateful,” Choi said. In fact, when I was seriously injured at the beginning of the season, I had my doubts as well, thinking, ‘I’m old, can I come back?’ In fact, Hong Chul’s return was the reason we were able to rebound. He gave us balance in the defense and improved our performance.” “Keita is also working hard. I think exemplary players like Chul and (Lee) Yong-rae taught us a lesson.” 안전놀이터
With the three points, Daegu leapfrogged into fifth place with 24 points. It’s Daegu’s highest position this season. “We have to play Seoul and then Jeonbuk. Last year, we were in a relegation fight, so we are compelled. We’re focused and communicating with the teams above us to make sure we don’t fall. Suwon Samsung is below us, but even against them we have a difficult game. “The game against Seoul gave us a lot of confidence,” he said, “We can play against any team and I believe we can win. Jeonbuk has a good atmosphere and good players, but we want to make the most of the losses we can and produce results.”