First leg of FA Cup final ends with 1-1 draw in Ulsan

The opening leg of the championship final at the largest annual football tournament ended in a draw on Wednesday.

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors and Ulsan Hyundai FC played to a 1-1 draw in the first match of the two-legged final at the FA Cup, organized annually by the Korea Football Association (KFA).

Murilo put Jeonbuk on the board in the 50th minute at Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium in Ulsan, but Júnior Negrão leveled the score 10 minutes later for the home team.

The second leg will be 2 p.m. Sunday at Jeonbuk's home, Jeonju World Cup Stadium in Jeonju, North Jeolla. The aggregate score after these two matches will determine the champion.

Jeonbuk will try to win their fourth FA Cup, and first since 2005. Ulsan won their first and only FA Cup in 2017.

Both clubs have a chance to pull off a "double," or winning two major competitions in one season.

Jeonbuk got one out of the way by capturing the K League 1 title last Sunday, as they finished three points ahead of Ulsan.

After the FA Cup, both clubs will resume group stage action at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League, the continent's top club tournament, later this month.

Jeonbuk are still in a position to achieve a "treble," or lifting three trophies in one season. It has never been done by a Korean club.

After a scoreless first half, during which Jeonbuk hit the goal post twice, Murilo broke the deadlock by converting a Mo Barrow cross. When a pass came over from the right wing, Barrow charged down the opposite side and saved the ball from going out of play. His diagonal pass rolled through the box before it landed on the unmarked Murilo, who struck it home past goalkeeper Jo Hyeon-woo.

Ulsan got the equalizer at the hour mark, when midfielder Yoon Bit-garam threaded a pass for Júnior Negrão, who split the defense for his first FA Cup goal.

Júnior Negrão thought he'd scored the go-ahead goal in the 71st minute, but it was wiped out on an offside call. The teams traded some chances down the stretch, but they amounted to nothing in the end.

Jeonbuk finished the K League 1 season last week with 60 points from 19 wins, three draws and five losses. Ulsan finished in second place with 57 points from 17 wins, six draws and four losses.

Ulsan had been at the top for most of the year but fell to second place after losing to Jeonbuk just a few days before the end of the season. Ulsan now have nine runner-up finishes, more than any other club in K League history.

During the season, Jeonbuk defeated Ulsan in all three meetings by a combined score of 5-1. Ulsan suffered four losses in 2020, and three of them came against Jeonbuk.

Yonhap