Professional soccer’s K League One (K1) Gangwon FC has jumped to the top of the standings for the first time this season with a ‘fresh wind’ of five consecutive wins.

Gangwon scored a relay goal from Yoo In-su, Yago, and Yang Min-hyuk to earn a 3-1 home win over Suwon FC in the 17th round of the Hana Bank K League 1 2024 at Songam Sports Town in Chuncheon on Friday.

With their fifth consecutive win, their first in seven years since June 2017, Gangwon (31-32 points) are level on points with Ulsan HD (31-31 points), who have played one game less, 안전카지노사이트 but have a superior goal difference and have moved from fourth to first place.

This is the first time this season that Gangwon has led the mid-table standings.

Suwon FC (27 points), on the other hand, was unable to continue the momentum of its recent two-game winning streak and slipped to fifth place.

The game was characterized by Gangwon’s frightening determination.

After taking a 1-0 lead in the first half through Yoo In-su’s goal in the 12th minute, Gangwon conceded a late equalizer to Suwon FC’s Lee Seung-woo nine minutes into the second half.

It was Lee’s ninth goal in three games, tying him with Mugosa (Incheon – 9) for the top spot on the league scoring list.

Kangwon immediately fought back and regained the lead in the 10th minute of the second half when Yago took a pass from Lee Sang-heon and fired a powerful left-footed shot from the left side of the penalty area. Yago also found the back of the net for the third straight game.

Gangwon took advantage of Suwon FC’s surrender in the 20th minute of the second half with a wedge goal from ’18-year-old goalie’ Yang Min-hyuk.

A pass from Song Jun-seok on the left flank was picked up by Lee Sang-heon and played straight to Yang Min-hyuk, who scored with a right-footed shot from the right side of the goal area. It was a simple goal that took just two passes to complete.

At the Pohang Steelyard, Daejeon Hana Citizens, who welcomed back coach Hwang Sunghong, drew 1-1 with the Pohang Steelers.

With 15 points, Daejeon moved up to 10th place.

Hwang, who was appointed to the relegation-threatened Daejeon team on March 3, delivered a solid performance in his return to action against champions Pohang.

Hwang was appointed as the first manager of Daejeon after the club’s transition to a corporate club when they were in the K League 2 (2nd Division), but stepped down in September 2020 due to poor results.

Hwang is also a Pohang Legend, having played for the club and coached them to the league title.

After two games without a win (one draw and one loss), Pohang remained in third place (30 points).

Daejeon scored first thanks to an own goal despite recording zero shots in the first half.

In the 14th minute, Daejeon’s Kang Yoon-sung sent a ground ball cross to Kim Seung-dae, who was rushing into the box on a counterattack, but the ball hit the foot of Lee Dong-hee, who was trying to clear it, and headed into the net.

Pohang, who had dominated the midfield without faltering after conceding the goal, tied the game just 10 minutes after the break through a goal by Alloway Jun.

In the 24th minute, Aubertan’s cross from the left side was met with a header by Alloway-Joon that split the post.

Pohang continued to dominate but were unable to capitalize and made a change at the start of the second half, bringing on Lee Ho-jae and Jeong Jae-hee for Joji and Kim In-sung.

Lee Ho-jae’s toes flashed several times, but he was unable to finish with a goal.

In the 13th minute of the second half, Lee had a strong shot from the right side of the goal area that was saved by the goalkeeper, and in the 29th minute, he had a shot from the right side of the goal that was blocked by a defender and hit the right post.

In the 16th minute of the second half, Han Chan-hee’s decisive shot from Oberdan’s cutback went over the top of the goal, sending the 8,000 Pohang fans who were cheering enthusiastically in the rain to sigh.

At Gwangju Stadium, Gwangju FC earned their second straight win with a 2-0 victory over Gimcheon Sangmu, who had one man sent off.

Gwangju (22 points) moved up to sixth place, knocking Jeju United (20 points), who have played one game less, down to seventh.

Gimcheon (30 points), on the other hand, dropped from second to fourth place as their 11-match unbeaten run (five wins and six draws) that stretched back to the previous round was halted.

Gimcheon found themselves at a numerical disadvantage in the 36th minute of the first half when Cho Hyun-taek made a rough back tackle on Gwangju’s Jung Ho-yeon, prompting the referee to show Cho a red card.

After a scoreless first half, Gwangju pounded on the Gimcheon goal with numerical superiority and finally took the lead in the 30th minute of the second half when Park Tae-joon headed in a cross from the left flank by Jung Ho-yeon from the front of the goal area.

Gwangju added another goal in the 43rd minute when Um Ji-sung dribbled forward from the left side of the penalty area, neutralizing three defenders before finishing with a right-footed shot to force Gimcheon to surrender.