Hong Hyun-seok scores a brace as Ghent beat Dessel 5-0

Hong Hyun-seok of KAA Gent scored a brace during the club's 5-0 victory over KFC Dessel Sport in a Croky Cup round of 32 match on Wednesday at Armand Melis Stadion in Dessel, Belgium.

Hong Hyun-seok of KAA Gent shoots during a Croky Cup round of 32 match against KFC Dessel Sport at Armand Melis Stadion, Dessel, Belgium on Wednesday. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Hong Hyun-seok of KAA Gent scored a brace during the club's 5-0 victory over KFC Dessel Sport in a Croky Cup round of 32 match on Wednesday at Armand Melis Stadion in Dessel, Belgium.

Ghent got off to a flying start in the first half, scoring the four goals in the first 24 minutes of the match.

As soon as the whistle blew, Hong opened the scoring, finding the back of the net with his left foot after just one minute.

After debutant Cederick Van Daele scored the club's second goal in the seventh minute, Hong was at it once again in the 20th minute for his second goal of the day with an assist from Laurent Depoitre taking the score to 3-0.

Just four minutes later, Depoitre found a chance of his own, scoring Ghent's fourth goal in the 24th minute.

Hong was substituted for Andrew Hjulsager at the start of the second half. Hjulsager added Ghent's fifth goal in the 49th minute, taking the scoring to 5-0.

Hong Hyun-seok of KAA Gent celebrates with his teammates after scoring during a Croky Cup round of 32 match against KFC Dessel Sport at Armand Melis Stadion, Dessel, Belgium on Wednesday. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

This isn't the first time that Hong has scored a brace for Ghent. Just a month ago, Hong hammered in goals three and four of a Belgian Pro League match against Eupen.

Hong's spectacular performance in the first three months with Ghent earned him the club's Player of the Month title for October and won him Goal of the Month on Monday.

Hong joined Ghent in August from Austrian side LASK in a deal reportedly worth 1.5 million euros ($1.5 million). The 23-year-old quickly made a name for himself in Belgium, scoring a stunning bicycle kick in his very first appearance on Aug. 12.

Hong went on to pick up his first assist two games later on Sept. 1, scoring in the next game on Sept. 4 and picking up another assist on Sept. 11.

The 23-year-old quickly built on that success and established himself in October, scoring that brace against Eupen on Oct. 9. On Oct. 27, Hong slotted in an all-important equalizer during the second half of Ghent's match against Shamrock Rovers that kept Ghent alive in the Europa Conference League.

He currently has four goals and three assists in the league and one goal and two assists in the UEFA Europa Conference League.

This year has been fruitful in other ways for Hong, who before joining Ghent was called up to the U-23 Korean national team for the first time this year. He had also appeared in all three LASK games this season before leaving for Ghent in August, picking up one assist and helping the club rise to the top of the Austrian Bundesliga with two wins and one draw.

Hong joined LASK in July last year and appeared in 23 games with the Austrian club, picking up five assists. He also played in eight Europa Conference League games, where he added two more assists and picked up a goal against Armenian side FC Alashkert in the group stage.

Hong is a rising star that has picked up three caps for the Korean U-23 team and played his youth career with Ulsan Hyundai in the K League. Before joining LASK he played for Austrian side Juniors OÖ and German club Unterhaching.

BY YUN SO-HYANG [yun.sohyang@joongang.co.kr]