Ulsan beat Pohang to extend lead at top of K League

Ulsan Hyundai extended their lead to 16 points with a 1-0 win over the second-place Pohang Steelers on Saturday on what was otherwise a very quiet weekend for the K League.

Ulsan Hyundai vie for the ball with the Pohang Steelers during the east coast derby on Saturday at the Steelyard in Pohang, North Gyeongsang. Ulsan won the game 1-0, extending their lead at the top of the K League. [YONHAP]

Ulsan Hyundai extended their lead to 16 points with a 1-0 win over the second-place Pohang Steelers on Saturday on what was otherwise a very quiet weekend for the K League.

Midfielder Joo Min-kyu provided the only moment of excitement in the low-scoring affair at the Steelyard in Pohang, scoring Ulsan’s sole goal of the game in the 24th minute.

With the win, Ulsan now sit on 53 points in 21 games with a huge plus-24 goal difference. That puts them well ahead of the Steelers on 27 points with a plus-six goal difference.

An unusual scheduling quirk saw the K League host not only a clash between the first and second teams, but also one between the third and fourth as third-place FC Seoul took on fourth-place Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors at Jeonju World Cup Stadium in Jeonju, North Jeolla.

Jeonbuk emerged victorious in that Saturday clash, beating Seoul 2-1 to tie on 33 points on the table, but trail on goal difference with a plus-eight to Seoul’s plus-10.

The goals came late and fast in Jeonju, with Cho Gue-sung opening the scoring in the 67th minute for Jeonbuk and Rafael da Silva pushing that lead to 2-0 in the 76th. Seoul were able to get one back with a Na Sang-ho penalty deep into injury time, but the rally came far too late to challenge Jeonbuk’s 2-1 win.

Saturday’s game not only marked another important win in Jeonbuk’s recent push up the table, but may also prove to be a sadder milestone in the history of the club — Cho’s opening goal may very well be his last for Jeonbuk, and indeed in the K League 1 for some time.

Twenty-five-year-old Cho is rumored to have flown to Denmark on Sunday where he is expected to sign with Danish Superliga side FC Midtjylland this week.

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Alongside Ulsan and Jeonbuk, Daegu managed the only other win of the week, beating Jeju United 2-1 at Jeju World Cup Stadium in Jeju on Friday.

Jeju got off to a fast start, with Yeon Je-woon scoring the opening goal just six minutes into the game. Disaster struck for the home side less than 10 minutes later, however, when Kim Dong-jun knocked in an own goal to tie the score at 1-1.

The game stayed tied at 1-1 for nearly 80 minutes, with Daegu finally pulling ahead in injury time with a late effort from Jang Seong-won.

That goal not only secured Daegu a 2-1 win, but also allowed the club to jump from eighth to fifth on the table, knocking Jeju down to seventh in the process.

All other games over the weekend ended in draws, with Gangwon and Gwangju holding each other to a 1-1 draw on Friday, Suwon FC and Incheon taking a point each following Saturday’s 2-2 tie and Daejeon Hana and the Suwon Samsung Bluewings manging 2-2 on Sunday.

Gwangju was the only other team to make a move on the table during the week, dropping from seventh to eighth to make room for Jeju. Sixth-place Daejeon, seventh-place Jeju and eighth-place Gwangju are tied on 29 points each, with goals for separating the three teams.

The K League returns Tuesday with some midweek action as Daegu take on Gangwon and Jeju play Gwangju. Ulsan are up on Wednesday as they take on Ulsan and FC Seoul face Suwon FC, with the Bluewings playing the Steelers on the same day and Daejeon taking on Jeonbuk.

The league will rest on Thursday and Friday, returning Saturday for a busy weekend as Ulsan visit the Bluewings, FC Seoul take on Gangwon, Gwangju play Daegu, Jeonbuk host Suwon FC, Jeju head to Pohang to play the Steelers and Incheon and Dajeon face off in Incheon.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]