“I told him to delay his enlistment.”
That’s what Incheon United head coach Cho Sung-hwan said to goalkeeper Kim Dong-heon in a “heartfelt” message.
Cho’s side moved up a place to finish second in Group G of the 2023-2024 Asian Football Confederation Champions League (ACL) with a 2-1 victory over Yokohama Mariners in the fifth match of the group stage at the Incheon Football Stadium on Monday, keeping their hopes of reaching the round of 16 alive.
Both Incheon (W3 D2 L2) and Yokohama (W3 D2 L2) are tied on nine points, but the group standings are decided on a winner-take-all basis. Against Yokohama, Incheon secured their second straight win to move into second place ahead of the winner’s bracket.
After the game, Coach Cho said, “We couldn’t be happier to get a win in our last home game of the season. We did our best to make the team feel satisfied with the season and excited for the upcoming season. We had a clear goal this season: to get through the group stage. Now that we have achieved a good result, we will thoroughly prepare for the rest of the league and the final match against Kaya and finish well to raise expectations.”
Captain Oh Ban-seok said, “It was an important game, and I’m grateful to the fans for coming out in the cold. We’ll have to fight until the end, but we’ll do our best to pull off an unexpected upset.”
A goal is a goal, but it was Kim Dong-heon’s super save that stood out. After scoring the opening goal, Yokohama’s offense was shut down. In the 34th minute, Eubert’s powerful right-footed shot was saved by Kim Dong-heon. In the 35th minute, a ball from behind was caught by Kona’s foot, but again, his animal instincts shone through. After saving most of the shots on target, Yokohama Marinos head coach Kevin Muscat was tongue-in-cheek.
He said of the performance, “That’s right. I told him that I wanted him to join the army after contributing to the team until the last game against Kaya. I told him to delay his enlistment,” he laughed.
The performance of the younger players is impressive. In addition to Hong Si-hoo, who scored the first goal of the match, U-22 players such as Choi Woo-jin, Park Seung-ho, and Park Hyun-jin were all over the field. 보스토토 도메인
Coach Cho said, “There are players who are playing in the ACL for the first time. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t concerned, but I think they were motivated during the preparation. Hong Si-Hoo was able to go to the age group national team, but he was injured, and Park Seung-Ho also came with an injury, so we were able to prepare well during the rehabilitation period. The veteran players who have been playing before are also doing a good job. At the moment, the younger players are performing better than expected, which is positive. I’m really looking forward to next year. As a head coach, I have a lot of worries at the end of the season, but I am relieved,” he said.
“I get a lot of energy from playing with young players,” said Oh Ban-seok. I trusted them because they have international experience. I think it’s a positive result for Incheon. They are a great asset, and I think the future of the team is bright.”