Ulsan come out on top after first leg of Korea Cup semifinals

The first legs of the 2024 Korea Cup semifinals ended Wednesday with K League 1 defending champions Ulsan HD beating Gwangju 1-0 and reigning Korea Cup champions Pohang Steelers drawing 2-2 with Jeju United.

Ulsan HD's Yago Cariello, far left, celebrates scoring a goal with his teammates during a 2024 Korea Cup match against Gwangju FC at Gwangju Football Stadium in Gwangju on Wednesday. [NEWS1]

The first legs of the 2024 Korea Cup semifinals ended Wednesday with K League 1 defending champions Ulsan HD beating Gwangju 1-0 and reigning Korea Cup champions Pohang Steelers drawing 2-2 with Jeju United.

Ulsan secured a crucial road win at Gwangju Football Stadium in Gwangju on the back of a Yago Cariello winner in the 54th minute.

Cariello's goal came after a stalemate in the first half, with both sides managing multiple shots on target without getting anything across the line.

Ulsan were aggressive when trying to regain possession. This proved particularly effective in the second half — new Ulsan midfielder Jung Woo-young snatched the ball with a tidy tackle, leaving it to fall straight into the path of Cariello, who slotted it through the legs of Gwangju goalkeeper No Hee-dong.

Gwangju created solid chances in the remaining minutes, displaying smooth build-ups that led them to record shot after shot, but the much-needed equalizer did not come through the final whistle at 90+8 minutes.

Gwangju still have the second leg to turn things around and make it to the Korea Cup final for the first time. As for Ulsan, booking a ticket to the final will mark their first time doing so in four years.

Ulsan won the title once in 2017 but have failed to do so again despite a successful run in the K League 1 over the past two seasons, during which they won back-to-back league titles for the first time in the club’s history.

Winning this year’s Korea Cup will mark Ulsan’s third straight trophy and new Ulsan manager Kim Pan-gon’s first title with the team after taking charge of the club last month. Kim replaced Hong Myung-bo, who left the team to take the helm of the Korean national team.

Over at Jeju World Cup Stadium in Jeju, the home side went in front in the third minute with a goal from Kim Ju-kong, followed by another goal from Yuri Jonathan in the 10th minute.

The Pohang Steelers' Jeong Jae-hee, right, celebrates scoring a goal during a 2024 Korea Cup match against Jeju United at Jeju World Cup Stadium in Jeju on Wednesday. [YONHAP]

But Jeon Min-gwang put one back for the Steelers in stoppage time and kept things competitive.

The sweltering heat in Jeju was an issue, with one spectator passing out during the game and being taken out of the stadium, causing a delay.

The referee added 10 minutes of stoppage time due to the incident, but that worked in favor of the Steelers, with Jeong Jae-hee scoring the equalizer in the 99th minute to end it at 2-2.

A win in the second leg will send the Pohang side through to the final for a second consecutive year, having won the Korean FA Cup — renamed the Korea Cup — last season.

For Jeju, losing the next match will mean ending their run in the tournament in the semifinals for a second straight year. The club has yet to win the title.

The second legs of the home-and-away semifinals kick off on Aug. 28. The four teams will be back in Korea Cup action after K League 1 fixtures over the weekend.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]