The loss was disappointing, but Gwangju’s aggressive football was definitely impressive. However, Director Lee Jung-hyo’s remarks were left with regret and were ‘missing words’ with no respect for the opponent. In the end, pros should speak with results.
Gwangju FC lost 0-2 to FC Seoul in the second round of the ‘Hana One Q K League 1 2023’ held at the Gwangju Soccer Stadium at 4:30 pm on the 5th. The content of the game was good, but ‘Ace’ Um Ji-seong was sent off in the second half, and it was painful in the end.
Gwangju coach Lee Jung-hyo is a coach with a clear color. After taking the helm of Gwangju ahead of last season, he showed a football that led with strong forward pressure and quick air and defense switching, and eventually won the K League 2 championship and was promoted to K League 1.
Director Lee Jung-hyo wanted a process, not a result. Coach Lee Jeong-hyo, ahead of the Seoul match, said, “The color of the team is more important than the result. Gwangju’s own football and process are important. Good football is important. Results don’t matter. I believe that good processes lead to good results. I told them to be confident and challenging,” he said, emphasizing that the content, not the result, should be good.
Clearly, Gwangju’s football was impressive. At the beginning of the game, Gwangju took the lead based on strong pressure, quick conversion of offense, and vigorous activity. In fact, Gwangju led the game throughout the first half, and at the end of the first half, Seoul shook the net, but the goal was canceled after VAR.
However, Seoul coach Ahn Ik-soo started the second half and began to create chances by using 3 replacement cards to regain the initiative little by little. It was the departure of Gwangju’s ‘ace’ Um Ji-seong that decided the game. In the 9th minute of the second half, Uhm Ji-seong tackled Kim Jin-ya and received a yellow card, which became a problem. In the 10th minute of the second half, while Kim Jin-ya broke the opponent’s pass and advanced, Um Ji-seong committed a foul and was sent off due to accumulated warnings.
From this point on, Seoul took the numerical advantage and clearly led the game. In the end, he scored the opening goal. In the 14th minute of the second half, Lim Sang-hyup, who received Lee Tae-seok’s pass, put up an elaborate cross, which Osmar shook the net with a powerful header. Afterwards, Seoul increased their possession and played the game stably, and at the end of the second half, Park Dong-jin scored an additional goal to win.
In Seoul, the content was not good, but the ‘result’ was taken care of, and in Gwangju, the process was shown, but the result was not obtained. At this time, director Lee Jung-hyo’s press conference remarks became controversial. Gwangju Soccer Stadium I understand that I am very sorry that I did not get a result despite showing Gwangju soccer in front of 7,357 fans, the largest number of spectators ever, but it was a ‘missing word’ that did not respect the opponent. 안전놀이터
After the game, coach Lee Jeong-hyo said, “I am more upset than sorry. It’s embarrassing to lose to a team that plays soccer like that. It’s my fault for not bringing results. Athletes have to maintain their performance. I think it showed the color of football in Gwangju. It seems that our players are more divided than me. I will improve what needs to be improved and prepare well for the next game.”
At the end, he said he hoped there would be no misunderstanding in his remarks. Director Lee said, “I hope there is no misunderstanding. It is not that I think badly of Seoul’s soccer and manager Ahn Ik-soo’s soccer. I am responsible for the outcome. Um Ji-sung’s exit was also my mistake. I should have taken the replacement timing sooner. There were players preparing behind us, so if we made a quick decision, we wouldn’t be outnumbered.”