Matchday 3 of the South Korean K-League has kicked-off on Friday.
The two red-black striped teams, Pohang Steelers and FC Seoul, met at the Pohang Steelyard for an intriguing match-up - which the guests took full advantage of.
Pohang Steelers v FC Seoul
Steelers were on an unbeaten streak with one win and one draw, while FC Seoul came back from a 2-0 defeat against Gangwon and beat Gwangju in the last round. It was the last match for Park Dong-jin, Sim Sang-min, Heo Yong-jun and Kim Yong-hwan before joining the military.
Stanislav Iljutcenko gave the hosts the early lead in the 5th minute, in quite an unusual situation. The German striker cleverly snatched the ball from within Seoul’s defensive blunder and put it in the empty net. Kim Nam-chun’s inaccurate touch and Yoo Sang-hoon’s bad positioning were both to blame. Steelers kept their attacking shift and Seoul had trouble breaking through their lines.
But Seoul had Hwang Hyun-soo, the defender who scored a brace in last season’s opener against the same opponent. In the 35th minute, Hwang comfortably headed a corner taken by former Arsenal man Park Chu-young into the right corner of the net.
Pohang had several great chances after the equalizer such as Lee Gwang-hyeok’s one on one chance in the 53rd minute and Kim Gwang-seok’s header which hit the crossbar three minutes later. And if you miss chances, you face threats. Seoul grabbed the lead in the second half with, again, a corner, and this time it was Spanish import Osmar Barba. This time, Ju Se-jong delivered a fine cross from the right side and Osmar put his head nicely in the 72nd minute.
FC Seoul put three points in their pocket with a hard-fought 2-1 victory. It is Seoul’s second successive win, sending the team straight to second place. Pohang, on the other hand, suffered their first loss of the season.
