‘Save Cho Hyun-woo’ Ulsan advances to ACL quarterfinals by defeating Kawasaki on penalty shoot-out

‘Defending champion’ Ulsan Hyundai defeated Japanese professional football powerhouse Kawasaki Frontale on penalty shootouts and advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2021 AFC Champions League (ACL).

Ulsan defeated Kawasaki 3-2 in penalty shoot-outs after a 120-minute match against Kawasaki in the round of 16 single-legged match held at Ulsan Munsu Soccer Stadium on the afternoon of the 14th in 120 minutes.

As a result, Ulsan advanced to the quarterfinals and continued their dream of winning the championship for the second time in a row.

Ulsan regained its first Asian title in eight years with nine straight wins after one draw last year.

Ulsan, who took first place in Group F with six wins in this year’s group stage and advanced to the round of 16, struggled to defeat Kawasaki and continued their undefeated streak, securing a ticket to the quarterfinals.

The quarterfinals and quarterfinals of this year’s East Asian region will be held in Jeonju, Korea from October 17-20.

The final will be held on November 23, local time in Saudi Arabia, where the quarterfinals and semifinals of the West Asia region will be held.

This match, which was played without spectators, was of great interest as it was a match-up between the teams running first in the regular leagues in Korea and Japan as of this season.

The goalkeeper fight between the national team member Cho Hyun-woo (Ulsan) and former national team member Jeong Seong-ryong (Kawasaki) also drew attention.

Ulsan placed Oh Se-hun at the forefront and placed Bako, Lee Dong-kyung, and Lee Dong-jun in the second line to aim for the Kawasaki goal.

Throughout the first half, both teams played cautiously in a tense atmosphere.

As soon as the game started, Yuga Kobayashi of Kawasaki attempted a left footed shot from the left side of the penalty area, but it was blocked by Cho Hyun-woo.

In the 23rd minute of the first half, Ulsan Hong-cheol’s cross from the left flank was delivered to Oh Se-hoon’s head in front of the goal, but Jeong Seong-ryong saved it.

In the 28th minute of the first half, Lee Dong-jun’s right-footed mid-range shot from the front of the penalty tee went straight to the goalkeeper.

The situation was similar in the second half.

Kawasaki increased possession of the ball, but did not attempt an excessive attack. Ulsan also maintained a tight defensive network and saw an opportunity to counterattack.

Ulsan replaced Lee Dong-kyung and Kim Seong-jun in the 22nd minute of the second half, and Yoon Bit-garam and Lee Cheong-yong were put in.

It wasn’t until the 41st minute of the second half that Kawasaki used his first replacement card to summon Yasuto Wakizaka and let Gei Jinen out.

Ulsan also prepared for overtime by replacing Oh Se-hun and Bako with Kim Ji-hyun and Yoon Il-rok two minutes later.

No goals were scored in overtime.

In the third minute of extra time, Bitgaram Yoon shot a right-footed shot from the penalty spot, but it flew over the goal.

Ulsan overcame the crisis by hitting a decisive header from Kazuya Yamamura just before the end of the first half.

In the 7th minute of the second half of extra time, Ji-hyeon Kim dropped a header and Lee Dong-jun shot with his right foot, but it went to the side of the goal.

After a corner kick just before the end of the second half, Kim Ji-hyeon’s header shot hit the post and eventually led to a penalty shootout.

In the penalty shoot-out, played by Kawasaki, Kawasaki’s Tatsuya Hasegawa and Joao Schmidt, and Ulsan’s Won Doo-jae and Lee Dong-jun lost 2-2.

In the end, the game was decided by the fifth and final kicker.

While Ienaga Kawasaki was able to block Akihiro’s shot, Hyeon-woo Jo read the direction and blocked it, while Bitgaram Yoon successfully kicked and led Ulsan to the quarterfinals.

Daegu FC, the first team ever to reach the round of 16, lost 2-4 in an away match against Nagoya Grampus (Japan) and could not climb higher.

Sejinya and Edgar scored consecutive goals in the first half against Nagoya, which had the second lowest number of runs (21 runs in 28 games) in the Japanese professional soccer J1 League (1st division) this season, but scored a hat-trick for Poland national team striker Jakub Swierzok. I let it go and eventually got down on my knees.

For Daegu, central defender Jung Tae-wook and active veteran midfielder Yong-rae Yong-rae were replaced with injuries one after another.

Daegu reached the round of 16 for the first time in the group stage with 4 wins and 2 losses and 2nd place in Group I. Nagoya took the first place in Group G with 5 wins and 1 draw in the group stage and secured a ticket to the round of 16.

In the match played in the rain, Nagoya goal opened 4 minutes after the kick-off whistle sounded. Jeong Seung-won threw the ball back from the front of the penalty tee, and Se Jin-ya made a right-footed mid-range shot.

Nagoya immediately counterattacked. In the 12th minute of the first half, Yuki Soma connected the ball from the left side of the penalty area to the center, and Naoki Maeda threw a heel kick.

Daegu took the lead again in the 28th minute by inserting a cross from the right flank by Jeong Tae-wook into the corner of Nagoya goal with Edgar’s head in the center of the penalty area.

But soon after, an unexpected situation was encountered.

Central defender Jeong Tae-wook injured his right ankle while defending and was carried on a stretcher, and Park Han-bin had to rush in in the 33rd minute of the first half.

Daegu finished the first half, and in the 12th minute of the second half, even veteran midfielder Lee Yong-rae could not play anymore due to an injury, so Tsubasa was released.

Daegu’s defense has been shaken sharply since then.

After the equalizer in the 18th minute of the second half, Svierzog conceded a comeback goal two minutes later.

In the 34th minute of the second half, Shinnosuke Nakatani’s header was added, making Daegu’s footsteps even heavier.