Suwon Samsung wins first game under ‘official commander’ Yi Ki-hoon in front of largest crowd ever
Professional soccer team Suwon Samsung has overcome a numerical disadvantage to win its first K League 2 match in franchise history.
It was the first win for “official” head coach Yi Ki-hoon in front of the largest crowd in K League 2 history.
Suwon got off to a flying start with a 2-1 home win over Chungnam Asan FC in the first round of the Hana Bank K League 2 2024 at Suwon World Cup Stadium in Suwon, Gyeonggi-do, 홀덤사이트 on Wednesday.
Suwon, who suffered a shock relegation to the bottom of the K League 1 last season, took the first step in their ‘promotion challenge’ with three points.
Yeom, who was relegated to the second division as an acting coach, kept his promise in his first game in charge.
At the opening media day on June 26, Yeom said he would play “hitting football first. It was a pledge to change the team’s disappointing form last season, when they won just eight games in 38 league matches and often conceded early leads.
True to his word, Suwon took the lead in the 21st minute of the first half. Mulicic, a foreign striker who stands over 2 meters tall, scored Suwon’s first K League 2 goal.
After Chungnam Asan’s Kang Joon-hyuk failed to handle the ball properly, Lee Sang-min, who had dug in on the right flank, quickly picked it up and ran to the penalty area. Mulicic calmly kicked the ball to Munjeon, who rattled the net for Chungnam Asan.
The crisis came in the 40th minute for Suwon, who dominated Chungnam Asan in the first 30 minutes, winning 64% to 36% of the ball possession.
On a Chungnam Asan counterattack, Jo Yoon-sung pushed down Jo Ning-you from behind as he rushed into the penalty area. The video assistant referee (VAR) showed a red card to Cho Yoon-seong, who joined from Chungnam Asan before the season.
Despite being outnumbered early on, Suwon scored another goal before the end of the first half. Once again, Mulicic stepped up.
In first-half stoppage time, Mulicic stepped up to take the free kick from behind the penalty spot and found the corner of the net with a sharp right-footed shot.
Chungnam Asan, who began to capitalize on their numerical advantage in the second half, scored the game-winner in the 23rd minute.
Rookie midfielder Jung Maho, born in 2005, calmly finished Park Dae-hoon’s pass deep in the penalty area for his first professional goal.
However, Chungnam Asan was unable to find the back of the net once more and had to settle for a 1-2 defeat.
New Chungnam Asan head coach Kim Hyun-seok, who took over the reins after last season after working in the club’s front office, will have to wait for another opportunity to make his debut.
Suwon, one of the most popular clubs in Korea, drew 14,196 fans for its first K League 2 match. This was more than the opening match against K League 1 Gwangju FC last year (13,348).
The 14,916 is the highest attendance in K League 2 since the counting of paid spectators began. It surpassed the previous record set last season at Busan Asianadju Stadium between Busan IPark and Bucheon FC (13,340).
Suwon head coach Park Kyung-hoon said, “This many fans came even though we were relegated. We understand that it is an expression of expectation that we will definitely achieve promotion this season,” said Suwon manager Park Kyung-hoon. “We will do our best to fulfill their expectations.”