Incheon vs. Shandong
K League One Incheon United suffered its first defeat in the Asian Football
Confederation (AFC) Champions League (ACL) group stage after falling to Choi Kang-
hee’s Shandong Taishan (China).
Incheon conceded two second-half goals to Shandong in their third home match of the
2023-2024 ACL Group G at the Incheon Football Stadium on Friday, losing 0-2.
Incheon, which is playing in the ACL for the first time in its 20-year history, suffered its
first defeat after failing to build on the momentum of a 4-2 win over Yokohama
Mariners (Japan) on March 19 and a 4-0 victory over Kaya (Philippines) on March 3 to improve to 2-1-1 with six points.
Shandong, coached by Choi Kang-hee, who previously managed K League One side
Jeonbuk Hyundai, also secured their second win of the group stage to move to 2-1-1
with six points, while Yokohama, who defeated Kaya 3-0 earlier in the day, are also on
six points, leaving Group G in a mixed bag.
Shandong’s Choi Kang-hee and Incheon’s Cho Sung-hwan.
With Mugosa and Gerso up front and veterans Shin Shin-ho and Lee Myung-joo both
out with injuries, Incheon’s midfield of Moon Ji-hwan, Mpoku, and Hernandez came out firing from the start.
They failed to capitalize on a series of good chances, with Kim Yeon-soo’s header from
a left-sided free kick by Mpoku being blocked by goalkeeper Wang Darei just three
minutes into the match, and then Moon Ji-hwan’s header from a right-sided corner kick by Mpoku hitting the post.
Shandong tried to take advantage of their height by sending Belgian international
Marouane Fellaini (194 cm), who has played for Manchester United (England), up front, but it was fruitless in the first half.
Incheon introduced Kim Do-hyuk in the seventh minute of the second half in place of
Moon Ji-hwan, who received a first-half red card, and Shandong struck first in the 10th
minute of the second half, when the bench battles began in earnest with the
introduction of 190-centimeter Brazilian striker Crijang.
In the 13th minute of the second half, Shandong’s Brazilians shared the lead when
Krijang’s right-footed shot from the penalty arc after receiving a pass from Moises found the back of the net.
In the 23rd minute of the second half, Incheon added to their injury woes as defender
Kim Yeon-soo complained of muscle pain, and they replaced Kim Yeon-soo with Min
Kyung-hyun and Mugosa with Chun Sung-hoon in search of an equalizer.
However, Incheon was unable to find the back of the net, and Fellaini’s 42nd-minute
goal drove a wedge into Shandong’s favor. 카지노사이트존
