Chun Sung-hoon (23) made history for Incheon United.
Incheon United won their 2023-2024 Asian Champions League (ACL) Playoffs (PO) single-leg match against Hai Phong FC (Vietnam) 3-1 in extra time at the Incheon Football Stadium on Sunday.
It was not an easy match. Incheon conceded in the sixth minute of the first half. They were down 0-1 at home. “Run, run, United!” the fans chanted. At that moment, Chun Sung-hoon burst onto the scene. He headed home Mugosa’s cross in the 17th minute, Incheon’s first goal in the historic ACL. After turning the game around, Incheon scored back-to-back goals from Hernandez and Gerso in extra time to win 3-1. Incheon advances to the ACL knockout stage.
After the game, Chun Sung-hoon said, “I’m honored (to score the first goal of the ACL). I didn’t want it to be an easy game. We conceded the first goal, which made it difficult. As a striker, you have to score to make it easier for the team, so that’s all I could think about. I thought, ‘How do I score a goal?’ I didn’t care if the team was playing well or not, I’m a player who needs to score goals, so I just focused on that.”
“It was the first time I connected with Mugosha. We made eye contact when I sent the cross up. I went in and he matched it. Thank you to Mugosa. We played hard until extra time. We scored two goals at the end. I’m grateful that Hernandez and Gerso scored the goals that allowed us to win. When I equalized with Mugosa, I think I said, ‘Let’s go and score one more goal,'” he laughed.
Chun Sung-hoon, who started the match, was subbed off after the first 45 minutes. He said, “It’s the manager and coach’s decision. I think a player has to accept it unconditionally. I wanted everyone out there to score one more goal with one mind and go home comfortably. Unfortunately, we had to extend the game. It’s a K League game soon and I think it’s taking a toll on the players physically. We need to recover quickly and prepare well for the game.”
Chun Sung-hoon was Incheon’s first ACL jersey model. However, he was photographed in the away jersey. He almost went down in history without playing a single away game. He said, “I’m very happy (to win) as a jersey model. I had a hard time during the shoot. I think it’s all about the excitement of going away and how you prepare for the flight time,” he laughed.바카라사이트
“After halftime, we were talking in the locker room about ‘we can do it’ and ‘let’s do it again’. No one said anything negative. I think we did a good job of staying calm and having a video meeting. We won, so everybody deserves a round of applause. I also got congratulated on the first goal. I was watching from the bench and I could see that the players were playing through the rats. I didn’t feel good. I think we need to focus on recovery.”
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