FC Seoul head coach Kim Ki-dong criticized his players for their mistakes after conceding a late goal from Lee Chul-kyu in stoppage time, but is confident they can break their winless jinx against Ulsan HD.
Seoul lost 0-1 to Ulsan 1-0 in the 23rd round of the Hana Bank K League 1 2024 at Munsu Football Stadium on Wednesday, conceding a goal from In-Joo In-gyu just before the end of the match. With the three points, Ulsan regained the lead at the top of the table (12 points (W6 D5 L5) and 42 points). Seoul remained in sixth place (8W6D9L – 30 points).
The match was dominated by Seoul. They pushed Ulsan all game long and pounded on the goal, but Cho Hyun-woo was there to keep them in the game. He made numerous saves to keep Ulsan out of trouble.
In the end, it was the goal difference that decided the match. As stoppage time expired, Ulsan striker Lee Min-gyu found the back of the net for Seoul. Despite dominating the game, Seoul was unable to break the Ulsan draw jinx.
In the post-match press conference, head coach Kim Ki-dong said, “I think the Suho Shin (Seoul supporters) were the loudest this year. I think we played well as we prepared, but the last mistake proved to be the fatal blow.” “But we don’t have to be disappointed. I told the players to be careful with their mistakes because we’ve been unlucky with goals this year, not because we’re bad. Everything else is going well, so we have to prepare well for the next game.”
“I haven’t checked him yet, but he said his left hamstring is uncomfortable. He says 안전놀이터 he’s fine, but we’ll have to check him tomorrow to find out.”
“We didn’t give them many shots, and we created a lot of good chances, but in the end, the difference was in the goal. That can happen in any axis. We could have scored a goal and won the game, but we lost, but overall I’m happy with the performance today.”
When asked what he would say to players who make mistakes in defense, he said, “As you saw in today’s game, there were mistakes from Kim Joo-sung and Ryu Jae-moon. I think it’s a difference in concentration. It depends on the situation, but I think the players should go by their experience. I’ll try to say something to instill confidence through the meeting.”
Kim is confident that the winless jinx against Ulsan will be broken one day. “I think we will break it,” Kim said. The players must have played with confidence that they can win. I think there is a lot of disappointment in the locker room right now. We played with the mindset that we could win, but our mistakes cost us a goal, so they are more disappointed.” “If we continue to play like we did today, I think we should aim for a direction where we can improve,” he said, adding that the team will get better.