Director Cho Sung-hwan sighs over ‘injury demon’
Incheon drew 1-1 with Pohang Steelers in the K-League 1 round 34 away game held at Pohang Steel Yard on the 20th.
They went undefeated in 5 games (2 wins, 3 draws) and moved up one place to 5th place (49 points). However, they were ahead 1-0 in the first half, but gave up a penalty kick equalizer to Zeka in the second half, so they shared 1 point, which is satisfying. It was an unexpected result.
What was more painful than the missed victory was the injury of starting midfielder Lee Myung-joo.
Lee Myung-ju played as a starter that day and played in the midfield, but after touching the ball during the defense process at the end of the first half, he suddenly raised his hand and collapsed on the ground.
Soon, a hand signal indicating that he could not play any further was given to the bench, and he was eventually replaced by Moon Ji-hwan.
With midfielder Shin Jin-ho and defender Delbridge already out due to injury, if Lee Myung-joo is also missing, it would be a huge negative news for Incheon, which has a tight schedule ahead of it, including the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League (ACL) and the Korea Football Association (FA) Cup in addition to the league. .
On this day, coach Cho Seong-hwan came to the stadium wearing training clothes and a hat, and had Shin Jin-ho and Delbridge’s uniform numbers ‘8’ and ’20’ engraved on one side of the hat, foreshadowing that the two players’ absence would not be short.
After the game, Coach Cho looked worried, saying, “Lee Myung-joo is suspected to have a medial ligament injury. I think he will need to undergo a thorough examination.” He added, “Lee Myung-joo’s injury is more disappointing than the result of today’s game.”
Coach Cho reflected, “I prepared well for two weeks to get a good result in Final A, but I am very disappointed with the result. I wish we had scored an extra point in the first half.”
He diagnosed, “Because the opponent’s organization is excellent, we have to maintain defense to create many opportunities, but when we are in a lead situation, the initiative is taken away,” and “We need the strength to maintain the performance for the entire 90 minutes.”
At the same time, Coach Cho said, “Right after the international match period, the performance and results were not good. I think today’s game will be a medicine for the ACL game,” and pledged, “We will show a better performance in the ACL game midweek.”
Like Incheon, Pohang, ranked second in the league (59 points) and ahead of the ACL and FA Cup, was able to breathe thanks to the return of long-term injured players.
On this day in Pohang, winger Jeong Jae-hee and fullback Shim Sang-min returned after a long absence.
Jae-Hee Jeong returned as a starter on this day after not playing since early April due to a hamstring injury, and Sang-Min Shim, who had not been seen since early June due to a right knee injury, returned as a replacement.
Pohang coach Kim Ki-dong said, “Jung Jae-hee has adapted well considering it has been a long time since he played. We tried to let Shim Sang-min rest as much as possible, but Park Seung-wook looked a bit awkward on the left, so we put him in after discussion and it seems to have succeeded.” He added, “Both players are confident that they can do well in today’s game.” “It’s a great harvest for the team,” he said with a smile.
“We tried to use an irregular attack in the first half, but it didn’t work. In the second half, we made use of what we were good at and created a rush,” said Coach Kim, who reflected on the game. “It’s unfortunate that we couldn’t win even though we had a chance to turn it around, but we should have at least one point.” “I’m glad I came. I think I can go to Japan (ACL Urawa away) feeling better than losing,” he said.
