“The MB ball chewing up the jinx, now it’s time for Big Bird to shout the victory!”
Prior to the K-League 1 round 14 match between Ulsan and Suwon held at Suwon World Cup Stadium on the 21st, Ulsan distributed materials titled ‘Ulsan vs Suwon Preview’. The first subheading contains the determination to break the jinx. After Hong Myung-bo took office as Ulsan coach, Ulsan recorded 4 wins and 1 draw in home games against Suwon. However, in away matches, they have not won once with 1 draw and 2 losses.
The second subheading was ‘The first goal of Byung-soo’s ball, which eventually started with Lee Ki-je’s left foot’, and an analysis of Suwon’s scoring pattern was written. Last season, Suwon scored 44 goals, ranking 10th among 12 K-League 1 teams. However, corner kicks scored first with 12 goals, and ‘set piece scoring’ derived from corner kicks and free kicks was tied for third with 14 goals, following Ulsan and Suwon FC (15 goals). Even at the beginning of this season, Suwon had no set piece goals, but the first goal Suwon scored after manager Kim Byung-soo took over was a goal from Lee Ki-je’s left foot. Suwon won 2-0 against Gangwon on the 13th, when a goal that was characteristic of Suwon broke after Kim took over as manager.
The third sub-title reads, “Suwon’s defense, which seems dense but loose, is now when Um Won-sang shines.” An analysis of Ulsan’s defense of Suwon said, “When defending, it forms a defensive line in the form of a 5-3-2 formation and actively blocks passes coming into the center.” When pressing, the Suwon defense tends to miss it.”
The prospect of the game, which was a kind of ‘reference distance’, became a hot topic after the game as a ‘prophecy’ that day. As Ulsan led 1-0 with Rubikson’s left-footed volley shot from the left side of the penalty area in the 6th minute of the first half, Suwon equalized three minutes later with a right-footed shot from Ahn Byung-jun following Lee Ki-je’s cross from a free kick situation in the 8th minute. In the 40th minute of the first half, Ulsan’s Kim Young-gwon scored a left-footed mid-range shot from the front of the penalty kick to lead 2-1, and Suwon equalized again with Lee Ki-je’s free kick goal. In the 16th minute of the second half, Lee Ki-je’s left-footed shot from outside the right line of the penalty area was sucked into the pillar of Ulsan’s left goal.
Ulsan, who allowed Lee Gi-je to score twice despite knowing it, still won. In the 38th minute of the second half, Seol Yeong-woo of Ulsan was fouled by Lee Sang-min of Suwon inside the penalty area and won a penalty kick. There were six Suwon players in the penalty area, but their concentration in response to the pass from Kim Young-kwon’s toe to Martin Adam’s head and Seol Young-woo was momentarily disturbed. In the 40th minute of the second half, Martin Adam, who started as a kicker, scored the winning goal, and Ulsan kept this goal to the end. After taking the helm of Ulsan, coach Hong won his first victory in Suwon’s hometown, breaking the jinx of Big Bird’s victory in Suwon’s hometown.
An official from Ulsan was shy, saying,안전놀이터 “I felt sick to my stomach at the site.” According to the ‘declaration’ in the handout, director Hong attacked Suwon’s weakness and finally escaped the Big Bird jinx, but also Suwon’s ‘janggi’ pointed out in the handout was directed twice, which chilled Ulsan’s conversation. Nevertheless, an official who said that he was happy that the team succeeded in winning six games in a row laughed, saying, “We will continue to prepare detailed and concise data with great care in the future.” Ulsan, who succeeded in winning 6 consecutive victories that day, widened the gap with the 2nd place (24 points) to 13 points with 12 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss with 37 points.