Steelers claim win No. 5, Jeonbuk still kicking in AFC Champions League

Football

Published: 30 Nov. 2023, 11:32 Updated: 30 Nov. 2023, 16:57

Steelers claim win No. 5, Jeonbuk still kicking in AFC Champions League

The Pohang Steelers celebrate during an AFC Champions League match against Hanoi FC at Pohang Steelyard in Pohang, North Gyeongsang on Wednesday. [AFC]

The Pohang Steelers extended their winning streak in the AFC Champions League on Wednesday, defeating visitors Hanoi FC 2-0 to claim their fifth straight Champions League victory as the only undefeated K League team in the tournament.

Incheon United, Ulsan Hyundai stay alive in AFC Champions League with key wins

With the Steelers having already locked in a spot in the round of 16 on Nov. 8, a win in Wednesday’s group stage game at Pohang Steelyard in Pohang, North Gyeongsang was not a must for the Pohang side.

Still, the Steelers overwhelmed Hanoi with a more dominant performance and gave the Vietnamese side little hope of securing a victory.

Holding much more possession in the early going of the game, the Steelers created multiple chances and opened the scoring with Lee Ho-jae’s penalty in the 33rd minute.

Hanoi did not seem desperate enough to win, however, putting little effort into pressing the Steelers midfield that played a central role in the build-up.

The Steelers entered the second half with a 1-0 lead, and Ha Chang-rae made it 2-0 with a header in the 53rd minute.

Hanoi seemed more serious from that point and started to press the Steelers harder, managing a few shots in the remainder of the second half. But none of those efforts found the back of the net by the game's end.

It was the second time the Steelers had beaten Hanoi in this year’s group stage, having managed a 4-2 win in September.

The Steelers remain the only unbeaten K League side in this season’s Champions League with their five straight wins.

The Steelers’ remarkable run does not come as a surprise, considering the team has been one of the best sides in Korea this season.

They were not only the 2023 Korean FA Cup champions, but they also locked in a runner-up finish in the K League on Saturday.

Winning the Champions League this season will make the Steelers the joint-winningest team in tournament history with four titles alongside Al Hilal SFC from Saudi Arabia.

The last time the Pohang side won the title was back in 2009, and their best finish since then was as runners-up in 2021.

Over at Hong Kong Stadium in Hong Kong that same day, Jeonbuk kept alive their hopes of reaching the knockout stage with a 2-1 win against Kitchee SC.

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors' Moon Seon-min celebrates scoring a goal during an AFC Champions League match against Kitchee SC at Hong Kong Stadium in Hong Kong on Wednesday. [YONHAP]

Jeonbuk had to maintain their runner-up place in Group F in order to be in with a chance of reaching the round of 16.

They did so, even with one man down.

After making it 2-0 with Moon Seon-min’s goal in the second minute and Song Min-kyu’s No. 2 in the 38th minute, defender Jeong Tae-wook received a red card for a foul on Ruslan Mingazow in the 45th minute, leaving Jeonbuk with 10 men for the entire second half.

Jeonbuk struggled with build-up in the second half and conceded a goal to Jakob Jantscher in the 69th minute, but denied Kitchee a comeback to end the game 2-1.

Despite Wednesday's victory, Jeonbuk cannot snatch the Group F frontrunner position from Bangkok United, however, as the Thai side are four points clear at the top with 13 and there is one group stage match left.

This week saw all four K League teams competing in the Champions League — Steelers, Jeonbuk, Ulsan Hyundai and Incheon United — claim a win, although the Steelers are the only side that has secured a spot in the knockout stage.

The three other K League sides are all runners-up in their respective groups and still have a chance of reaching the round of 16.

In the Champions League, 10 group winners and three best runners-up from each region — East Asia and West Asia — reach the round of 16.

The K League teams will be back in Champions League action for their last group stage games, with the Steelers facing the Wuhan Three Towns on Dec. 6 and Ulsan playing Kawasaki Frontale on Dec. 12.

Incheon will then take on Kaya FC on Dec. 13 and Jeonbuk will play Bangkok United on the same day.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]