“On the road to Final A, we have the strength to hold on.”

Daegu FC head coach Choi Won-kwon expressed his team’s “pride in Daegu” after a “thrilling” theater victory over Suwon Samsung, their first three-game winning streak of the season and fourth place in the league.

Daegu won 1-0 against Suwon in the 30th round of the 2023 Hana OneQ K League 1 at Suwon World Cup Stadium on Sunday, thanks to a theater goal from Vassellus in second-half stoppage time.

With just four games left in the top and bottom split round, including Suwon, it is a desperation game for the mid- and upper-tier teams, with every game being a final, except for ‘second-place’ Ulsan and Pohang. On the day, third-place Gwangju beat fourth-place Seoul 1-0 to move to 48 points, while Incheon beat Jeju (35 points) the day before to move into sixth place with 43 points and Daegu (41 points) dropped to seventh. Fourth through sixth-place Seoul, Jeonbuk and Incheon formed the “43-point group” next to each other. Daegu has a chance to make a surprise 4th place finish if they catch the bottom team. However, if they lost or tied, they would be stuck in seventh place, a watershed moment in the Upper Water War.

Suwon was also in desperate need of a win at home. The day before, last-place Gangwon won 3-1 away to Jeonbuk in an underwater match to claim three points. With 24 points, they pushed Suwon to the bottom of the table with 22 points. They were desperate for three points at home.

There were a lot of changes in the lineup for both teams. Sejingya, the “King of Cod,” was out with a rib injury. Edgar got the start. For Suwon, Kim Bo-kyung returned to the field for the first time in more than two months since July 12 against Pohang. Both teams also changed their three-back combinations. Daegu brought in Kim Kang-san in place of Cho Jin-woo, who was absent due to accumulated warnings, while Suwon’s “2001 Youth” Lee Kyu-seok was tasked with shutting down Baselus. It was his league debut. In the Daegu midfield, Jang Jae-won replaced Hwang Jae-won, who was away at the Hangzhou Asian Games, and Choi Young-eun donned the goalkeeping gloves in place of Oh Seung-hoon, who underwent surgery to remove a lump.

In the first half, things didn’t go well for either team. Suwon couldn’t build up due to Daegu’s defense, and Daegu, without Sejingya, couldn’t create long counterattacks. The first half ended 0-0, and Suwon made their intentions clear at the start of the second half, bringing on Lee Ki-je, Mullich, and Werikpopo. In the 10th minute of the second half, Daegu had a heartbreaking moment. Daegu’s Beltola received a red card for elbowing Werikpopo. However, Suwon was unable to capitalize on their numerical advantage. Decision-making was a problem, with only two goals in the last five games. Instead, Daegu came back from the brink in the second half. And it was Daegu’s time in second-half stoppage time. Vasellus’ desperate push after breaking down the flank of a tiring Lee Kyu-seok finally found the back of the net.

Daegu wrote the drama. Without Sejingya, in the worst situation of ‘away’ and ‘outnumbered’, the victory button of ‘click soccer’ was triggered again. It was the first three-game winning streak of the season. The Big Bird waved with “Wea Daegu” chants. With 44 points, Daegu is now in fourth place in the league behind Ulsan, Pohang, and Seoul. Suwon remained in last place with 22 points, two points behind Gangwon.

In a post-match interview, Daegu head coach Choi Won-kwon said, “I’m proud of my players for showing determination until the end. It gave us the strength to hold on to the Final A,” he said. “Our next game is against Pohang. Every game is the final game to go to Final A. This game gave our players the strength to hold on and gave us the confidence that we can play well against Pohang. It was a big win for us.” “That’s the strength of Daegu,” he said of his team’s ability to come back from a 10-11 deficit to play better than Suwon in extra time. “We train a lot on the counterattack. It doesn’t matter if it’s five minutes in the first half or 90 minutes. You have to trust your cells and play. We believe in the cell,” he said emphatically. “That’s what Vaselus told us, to show with action. We talk a lot. He gave me the referee excuse and I said I don’t like excuses. I told him to show it with action and he showed it with action and scored. I’m grateful. It’s not Suwon’s fault, it’s our players’ fault. We trained really hard, and even if there were shortcomings, we played one step harder, and it paid off,” he said with a smile. 온라인카지노

Vasellus, the hero of the theater goal, thanked Choi Won-kwon. “The coach told me that if I keep taking chances, I can score a goal. After I scored, I shared my joy with my teammates and fans and then ran to the coach. I wanted to thank him for his faith and trust in me,” he said. “I came to Korea for the first time and needed a period of adjustment. The coach gave me a lot of good advice, saying that my strengths weren’t coming out. I was stressed at first, but I think it’s something I can improve on. It was thanks to his good words that I showed the same concentration and mental strength as today,” he added. “Today’s goal means a lot. It puts us up to fourth place and gives us a lot of momentum to continue our winning ways. It’s a big boost for us as individuals and as a team.” Three points, a desire for a top split, a never-say-die attitude, respect and appreciation for each other, and pride in Daegu. This is how Daegu won the theater.