Daejeon Hana Citizen, who have been promoted to the K-League 1, finished the first month with better-than-expected results.
On the 19th at Suwon World Cup Stadium in Suwon, Gyeonggi-do, Daejeon, which held the 4th round of Hana One Q K League 1 2023, defeated Suwon Samsung 3-1. After Lee Jin-hyeon scored the opening goal, Akosti allowed an equalizer, but Byun Jun-su and Kim Min-deok scored consecutive goals at the end of the second half to secure three points.
Daejeon, which has been promoted to K-League 1 for the first time in eight years, is in good spirits at the beginning of the season. Even if you don’t take into account that it’s a promotion team, the grades are compliant. They haven’t lost a single game in 4 matches. With 2 wins, 2 draws and 8 points, they are in 3rd place in the league.
The firepower that was the strongest in K League 2 is also working in K League 1. He scored 8 goals in 4 games. It is the ‘defending champion’ and is tied for first place with the most points scored by Ulsan Hyundai, which is also leading this season. Thiago, the best foreign scorer in last year’s K-League 2, who was ambitiously recruited, scored two goals, and existing players such as Kim In-gyun and Lee Jin-hyun also contributed.
It is positive that they are stably winning points regardless of the situation. The opponents Daejeon faced in the first four games were not easy teams. In particular, until the 3rd round, we faced last season’s Final A teams. In the first round, they defeated last year’s 6th place Gangwon FC, and in the second and third rounds, they drew against Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League (ACL) participating teams Incheon United and Pohang Steelers. It wasn’t just the homeroom that produced results. They won 1 win and 1 draw in Incheon and Suwon expeditions.
Unlike K-League 2, where there was a lot of pressure to be promoted, it is leading to good grades from the challenger’s point of view. Captain Joo Se-jong said after winning the opening round, “The pressure I felt when I was in K-League 2 disappeared as I moved up to K-League 1. The pressure turned into anticipation.” Cho Yoo-min, the key player in the defense, also evaluated that the impact of relieving the burden after the victory against Suwon was great. In the video released on the club’s YouTube channel, coach Lee Min-seong encourages the players who are disappointed after the draw against Pohang, saying, “1 win, 2 draws, did you try to win 3 in a row and 4 in a row after being promoted?” ‘ was a well-reflected scene. 안전놀이터
The performance of the players is also respected throughout. The new arrivals are definitely a plus for the team. While Thiago is contributing to the attack in the forefront, Oh Jae-seok and Anton are contributing to the improvement of the defense. Existing members such as Cho Yu-min, Lee Jin-hyun, and Lee Hyun-sik, who are familiar with the K-League 1 stage, are taking the lead in showing their skills without giving up in the K-League 1.
There are also forces to be added in the future. Major players such as Joo Se-jong and Martha have left due to injuries. ‘K League 2 top scorer’ Yoo Kang-hyun, who is not yet in full swing, can fuel the firepower of Daejeon if he improves his condition.
The first goal of the promotion team match this season is to remain in the K-League 1. It’s still a difficult time to guarantee anything, but Daejeon started the K-League 1 return season in a good mood, proving that it has the competitiveness to achieve at least its goals.