The blue waves of Ulsan Hyundai were swallowed up by the iron wall defense of Jeonbuk Hyundai in front of Jeonju Castle.

The match between Jeonbuk Hyundai and Ulsan Hyundai in the 16th round of the Hana OneQ K League 1 2023 at Jeonju World Cup Stadium on Wednesday saw the former defeat the latter 2-0, thanks to consecutive goals from Cho Kyu-sung and Moon Sun-min, and move up to sixth place in the standings.

A cloudy crowd of 27,797 traveled to Jeonju World Cup Stadium in 28-degree heat, and Jeonbuk reciprocated with a stunning performance against their nemesis, beating Ulsan at home for the first time in 575 days to start the weekend on a high note.

Crowds gathered three hours before kickoff

Three hours before kickoff, the stadium was already packed with fans from the previous World Cup in Jeonju. Normally, all gates open two hours before kickoff, but ahead of the Hyundai derby, Jeonbuk opened all gates at 13:30, three hours before kickoff, to prepare for a huge crowd.

At 13:30, the stadium gates opened and fans who traveled to Jeonju to watch the game began to enter one after another. Fans were spotted entering the stadium three hours before kickoff and preparing to cheer for the flags with rags, while some fans were seen singing chants and cheering for Hyundai as they entered the stadium, expressing their eagerness for the derby.

Jeonbuk hosted quite a few events for the Hyundai derby on the day. Cheerleader Lee Da-hye, a well-known Jeonbuk fan, came to the stadium to host a talk show, and fans could find QR codes around the stadium to win prizes.

The cheering was as intense as the game itself

An hour before kickoff, Jeonbuk and Ulsan players entered the stadium to warm up. As soon as the Ulsan team entered the stadium, Jeonju Castle was filled with boos. Jeonbuk fans started booing. In response, the Ulsan fans started chanting “Ulsan” and cheering for the Ulsan team.

Soon after, the Jeonbuk team entered the field, and the Ulsan fans responded with boos of their own. Ten minutes before kickoff, as the teams entered the stadium for the match, the cheering began to intensify. The Jeonbuk fans cheered with flags and chants, and the Ulsan fans responded with muffled chants, cheering for Ulsan as their voices drifted away.

Jeonju fans could be seen cheering at the top of their lungs no matter where they sat in the stadium, and it was hard to believe that this was the same Jeonju that had been dampened by the support boycott just two months earlier.

Ulsan fans traveled from as far away as Jeonju to support their team. The Ulsan fans, who traveled all the way from Jeonju, cheered and chanted for Ulsan throughout the game and cheered loudly for the team after the game, even in extra time when the deficit was deepening.

The cheering was as intense as the game itself. The cheerleading match, which was worthy of a prestigious match, was also a factor that enhanced the fun of the Hyundai Derby.

Jun Amano, Sun-min Moon, and Kyu-sung Cho steal the show for Ulsan

From the start of the game, the overall picture was of Ulsan dominating Jeonbuk. Ulsan set up a high defensive line against Jeonbuk and knocked on the door of Jeonbuk’s goal. In the first half, Ulsan put pressure on Jeonbuk, recording four shots on goal. Jeonbuk, on the other hand, played a more defensive stance against Ulsan and had to settle for a disappointing first half with only four shots on goal.

At the start of the second half, Jeonbuk began to make changes, bringing starter Hapa Silva to the bench and introducing international striker Cho Kyu-sung. Ulsan tried to make a change after the introduction of Cho Kyu-sung, but the effect was minimal.

The fateful 65th minute arrived just as Ulsan’s fierce attack was knocking on Jeonju’s door. Jeonbuk benched Oh Jae-hyuk and Gustavo and brought on former Ulsan man Jun Amano and the destructive pace of Moon Sun-min, while Ulsan also tried to make an offensive change by benched In-Ju-gyu and brought on Hungarian bomber Martin Adam.

Jeonbuk began to turn the tide of the game with the introduction of Moon Sun-min, who was adept at straightforward movement, 메이저사이트 and Amano Jun, who provided creative passes from the midfield, and eventually scored the team’s record-breaking first goal in the 83rd minute. After passing the ball to Jung Woo-jae on the right flank, Amano Jun spotted Cho Kyu-sung penetrating into the penalty box and quickly sent in a cross that Cho Kyu-sung finished with a perfect header to give Jeonbuk the lead.

After scoring his first league goal in 91 days, Cho Kyu-sung jumped for joy and Jeonju City was filled with cheers and shouts of support. Jeonbuk then sealed the victory with a late goal from Moon Sun-min in stoppage time. In the 90th minute, Jeong Tae-wook overcame a challenge from Ulsan’s Rubik’s Cube and passed the ball to Cho Kyu-sung, followed by a Cho Kyu-sung-Song Min-gyu pass, and after receiving Song Min-gyu’s pass, Moon Sun-min neatly slid the ball into the bottom left corner with his left foot, ending the game with a control tower ceremony.

Jeonbuk’s perfect finish: ‘Oreille + art’

Before Moon could celebrate his second goal, referee Lee Dong-joon blew the whistle to end the match. The victorious Jeonbuk team started jumping and celebrating after the game, while the defeated Ulsan team approached their fans to apologize and thank them for traveling to Jeonju.

After the game, Jeonju played the famous singer PSY’s signature song “It’s Art” in the stadium to celebrate the victory. The in-stadium announcer also encouraged the fans to sing along to the song, creating a fantastic atmosphere. When the song ended, Jeonbuk fans chanted “Oreille” with the victorious team, signaling the end of the game.

A “luxury match” worthy of the derby’s name took place in Jeonju Castle. The atmosphere and events surrounding the stadium were a work of art, not to mention the performance.

After getting the perfect revenge against rivals Ulsan Hyundai, Jeonbuk will take a three-day break at home before hosting Daegu FC on Wednesday, Nov. 7, in a battle for second place alongside Jeonbuk. On the other hand, after a two-day break that saw them suffer their second loss of the season, Ulsan will travel to Suwon on Tuesday, June 6 to take on Suwon FC, who are coming off a comfortable win in the Suwon Derby.