‘Leading the Way’ Director Yoon Jung-hwan “It’s like a dream… Yang Min-hyuk, you’re amazing”
Gangwon FC showed off their firepower to defeat Suwon FC. Gangwon has now won five games in a row and moved to the top of the league.
Gangwon won 3-1 at home against Suwon FC in the 17th round of the Hana Bank K League 1 2024 at Songam Sports Town in Chuncheon at 8 p.m. on Friday. After taking the lead through Yoo In-su’s first-half goal, Gangwon conceded a second-half goal to Lee Seung-woo, but Yago and Yang Min-hyuk scored back-to-back goals to secure the win. With the win, Gangwon is now level on points with Ulsan, but leads the league on goal difference.
It was a hotly contested match. Gangwon took the lead in the 12th minute when Yang Min-hyuk won the ball under pressure and Yoo In-soo scored following passes from Yago and Lee Sang-heon. Early in the second half, they conceded an equalizer to Lee Seung-woo, but Yago scored a breakaway goal shortly afterward. Yang Min-hyuk then added to the scoreline to seal the victory.
With the three points, Gangwon is now at the top of the league for the first time since June 5, 2020. They are tied with Ulsan on 31 points, but have 32 goals to their name, one goal ahead of Ulsan. The 9,704 fans in attendance at Chuncheon Songam Sports Town applauded the home team’s performance.
Speaking at the official post-match press conference, head coach Yoon Jung-hwan said, “I want to congratulate the players on their fifth consecutive win, and we prepared well for two weeks. It was our last game at home in Chuncheon, and I thought there would always be difficulties after four straight wins. But the players showed tenacity. We tried to take the lead after conceding the first goal, but the important thing is that we scored immediately after conceding and took the momentum. I’m happy that everything we planned and prepared for worked out well. We have a game tomorrow, but it’s a dream to be in first place. With this atmosphere, we can go even higher. We have the Korea Cup, but we will prepare well and do well in parallel. We won the first match of the five-game series, so I think we’re in a good mood,” he said. “I think more people will be looking forward to Gangneung. We will prepare thoroughly to live up to it.”
When asked if she expected to score three goals, she said, “Even though I’ve been practicing shooting, I’m finding the back of the net more than 사설토토 before. We keep scoring goals, and that’s the atmosphere of the team. In the first half, Minhyuk and Insoo missed chances, but I thought the players would score.”
It was his last game in Chuncheon, and he said to the fans, “I can only say thank you. It’s not just because we’ve changed. I’m grateful to the fans for always supporting Gangwon FC and I think we finished well. I hope that many people will come to Gangneung as well, and we will give them our strength and repay them.”
Yang Min-hyuk had another strong performance on the day. Coach Yoon Jung-hwan said, “You never know what the future holds. He did well today, but we don’t know what will happen tomorrow. If Min-hyuk can manage a little more and play with the mindset that he is still not good enough, he will be a better player in the future. Right now, he’s doing so well, I’m just happy for him.” As for Lee Sang-heon, who recorded more assists than goals, he said, “There will be another chance later. If the opponent’s defense is focused on the player who scores, the opportunity will come. Until now, I only had goals and no assists, so it was good to help out today.”
Playing high-pressing soccer requires physical strength. “We don’t just run around. We have a squad of around 20 players, and we’re getting better as we play. Some of it comes from training, but the players are more organized than before. It’s a combination of things, and I think it’s going well. Every team does fitness training. But we don’t do unnecessary fitness for each position.”