“I knew you were coming. I tried not to think about it too much.”
The Pohang Steelers defeated Jeonbuk Hyundai 1-0 in the 15th round of the Hana OneQ K League 1 2023 at 4:30 p.m. on Sept. 29 at the Pohang Steelyard.
In the match, Pohang dominated from the start, fueled by the roar of the fans who filled the stadium. They fired off seven shots in the first half alone, two of which hit the goal and crossbar respectively.
Unable to capitalize on their scoring chances, Pohang went into halftime with a 0-0 score.
The final goal came in the second half. Go Young-jun (22) was the hero of the 50th anniversary match. In the 22nd minute of the second half, on a counterattack, Ko broke down the right flank and ran all the way to the inside of the box before firing a right-footed shot. The ball hit Kim Jung-hoon’s hands and headed into the goal.
As the 50th anniversary match, club legends such as Lee Heung-sil, Shin Shinh-yong, and Hwang Jin-sung were in attendance, as well as the U-23 national team head coach Hwang Sun-hong.
Hwang watched Ko Young-joon’s performance from the sidelines.
This year, Hwang will lead his team to the Hangzhou Asian Games in September after a series of trials in March, June, and September. On top of that, he’ll have to manage the qualifiers for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Hwang has a busy schedule ahead of him.
Ko Young-jun has been selected by Hwang on several occasions. In May 2022, he was named to the squad for the 2022 AFC U-23 Asian Cup in Uzbekistan.
“I knew he was coming,” Ko said of Hwang. I tried not to think too much about it. I went out thinking, ‘Let’s do what we’ve been doing.’ I didn’t think, ‘He’s coming, so I have to do well.’ I did what I’ve been doing. I just did what I was doing and it worked out.” 메이저놀이터
He added, “You never know if you’re going to make it to the Asian Games. Every time I went to the national team, I did my best. I think coach Hwang Sun-hong is looking at it well. If I do my best in the remaining matches, I think he will select me, so I am working hard.”
Pohang head coach Kim Ki-dong was also pleased with his student’s progress. “He’s showing improvement,” Kim said after the match. I hope he will be selected for the Asian Games,” he said, encouraging him to join the national team.
