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| ◇photo courtesy of the Korea Professional Football Association |
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Ulsan HD confirmed the effect of returning to Lee Dong-kyung, a former student, but couldn't laugh at the end.
Ulsan lost 1-3 in the 35th round of the 2025 K League 1 against FC Anyang at Anyang Stadium on the 1st. Lee Dong-kyung, who returned from military service at Gimcheon Sangmu, took the lead by helping the first goal, but he eventually bowed his head as the negative situation of the exit overlapped with the equalizer to Moda. Ulsan, which failed to add points due to the loss, fell to ninth place after falling behind Anyang (43 points) with only 42 points. In addition, the crisis of the promotion playoff continued as it failed to widen the point gap with 10th-ranked Suwon FC (38 points), which did not play the 35th round schedule.
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| ◇photo courtesy of the Korea Professional Football Association |
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We got off to a good start. In the 12th minute of the first half, when Lee Dong-kyung was wearing a Anyang defender in front of the penalty area, he pushed the pass to Ko Seung-beom, who was digging to the right, and Ulsan took a 1-0 lead as Ko finished it with his right foot. In the 19th minute of the first half, Kang Sang-woo's handball foul declaration in the defense of the corner kick gave up a penalty kick, but goalkeeper Cho Hyun-woo blocked Mateus' left-footed shot to overcome the crisis. In the 30th minute of the first half, Jung Seung-hyun, who was competing with Mota for heading, was immediately sent off due to the price of his elbow, but luck seemed to follow, with the decision corrected by warning after an on-field review.
However, in the 36th minute of the first half, Bojanic injured his hamstring (back muscle of the thigh) and was replaced by Um Won-sang, and two minutes later, amid Anyang's pass play that led to Kim Dong-jin, Mo-ta and Matheus, Kim Dong-jin scored a header from the left side of the penalty area, allowing a 1-1 tie. Kim Min-hyuk, who was blocking Hangaram in the extra time of the first half, tried to tackle from behind, but failed to touch the ball and was sent off due to accumulated warnings, putting him in a numerical inferiority.
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| ◇photo courtesy of the Korea Professional Football Association |
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After Kim Min-hyuk's exit, Ulsan struggled in Anyang's wave of attacks. Cho Hyun-woo's good defense continued to tie the first half, but the situation did not improve in the second half. In the end, in the 11th minute of the second half, Anyang Lee Chang-yong changed the direction of the ball that Matheus floated low in front of the arc from the front of the gate to score, and Ulsan was 1-2 behind Anyang.
In the 13th minute of the second half, Cho Hyun-taek attempted a right-footed shot from the front of the gate, but failed to balance it again as he went to the front of the goalkeeper. After that, he tried to speed up the attack, but the numerical inferiority caused by the exit hampered him. As Anyang properly utilized the breakthrough and build-up of the foreign squad and increased its share, Ulsan rarely got a chance. In the end, the gap widened in the 32nd minute of the second half when Anyang pushed Matheus' cross from the right side of the gate to his right foot.
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| ◇photo courtesy of the Korea Professional Football Association |
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Ulsan's acting coach Noh Sang-rae showed his willingness to score a chase goal by putting in Malkong in the 37th minute of the second half. However, Anyang, not Ulsan, continued to solve the game. In the end, Ulsan failed to make up for it and ended the away game with a loss.
Meanwhile, the Pohang Steelers beat Gimcheon 1-0 in the match held at Gimcheon Stadium at the same time. Juninho's free kick score in the 25th minute of the second half became the winning shot. Gimcheon (59 points) failed to add points, falling behind Daejeon Hana Citizen (61 points), which previously defeated FC Seoul 3-1. Pohang remained in fourth place with 52 points.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
