By Pearse McLaughlin
Ulsan Hyundai cruise to all three points here at Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium as they beat Suwon FC 3-0. Goal in the first half from Gustav Ludwigson as well as goals in the second half from Joo Min-Kyu and Seol Young-Woo ensured Ulsan Hyundai return to the top of the table and look well on course to retain their title this season.
Ulsan Hyundai boss, Hong Myung-Bo has kept the same 4-2-3-1 formation that won last time out away to FC Seoul as he looks to continue their 100% record to the season here today against Suwon FC. Ulsan Hyundai have made three changes to their starting line-up as in comes Darijan Bojanic, Kim Min-Hyeok and Gustav Ludwigson to replace Eom Won-Sang, Valeri Qazaishvili and Lee Kyu-Seong.
Suwon FC boss, Kim Do-Kyun has altered his formation from his tried and trusted 3-5-2 that won last time out against city rivals, Suwon Samsung Bluewings 2-1 and has now gone with 3-4-3 formation. Suwon FC have also made four changes to their starting line-up as Oh In-Pyo, Park Cheol-Woo, Jeong Eun-Woo and Lars Veldwijk all come in to replace Hwang Soon-Min, Kim Kyu-Hyeong, Jang Jae-Woong and Shin Se-Gye.
Early substitutions for both sides on the 18th minute as Suwon FC bring on Murilo and Lee Kwang-Hyuk to replace Jeong Eun-Woo and Lee Dae-Gwang. Eom Won-Sang comes on to replace Jang See-Young and in doing so makes his 100th Tigers appearance as he was presented with a special plaque before the match.
Breakthrough for the home side on the 25th minute as Kim Min-Hyeok knocks the ball down and Gustav Ludwigson swivels on the half turn and arrows his volley straight into the bottom right-hand corner. That’s Gustav Ludwigson’s second goal for Ulsan Hyundai and his first start here at Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium. 1-0 to the champions. Emphatic finish.
On the 34th minute and it was nearly Ulsan Hyundai who nearly doubled their lead only for the offside flag to go up. Joo Min-Kyu plays the ball in between the right full back and centre back of Suwon FC but Seol Young-Woo made his run a fraction too early before squaring the ball for an easy tap-in for Eom Won-Sang. Correct goal by the officials as Seol Young-Woo had moved a fraction too early and it remains 1-0 to Ulsan Hyundai.
Ulsan Hyundai go into the break 1-0 up and could have been more as it has been a dominant display by the Tigers so far. Created countless opportunities and look well on their way to 3 points here and return to the summit of the K-League 1 table with 4 wins from 4 matches. Suwon FC have not really offered anything so far in terms of a goal threat, but they are still in the game at 1-0 and will use the half time period to refocus and hope they can frustrate the homeside and nick something on the counterattack.
Ulsan Hyundai double their lead on the 53rd minute as Joo Min-Kyu’s curling effort just left of centre from the edge of the box. It was great initial play by Gustav Ludwigson who robbed the ball off Lachlan Jackson who dallied on the ball too long, before laying it off to Joo Min-Kyu who makes no mistake and side foots his side into a 2-0 lead.
Only five minutes later and Gustav Ludwigson is everywhere and is causing Suwon FC all sorts of problems here. This time he swivels on the edge of the box before unleashing a curling right footed effort which was destined for the top right-hand corner but for a terrific save by No Dong-Geon to keep the score at 2-0.
3-0 and that’s game over. On the 82nd minute Ulsan Hyundai cut Suwon FC apart with a terrific team goal. It all starts down the right hand from Eom Won-Sang side as he plays a clever ball inside to substitute Lee Chung-Yong who then squares it to goal scorer Joo Min-Kyu who laid it off unselfishly to Seol Young-Woo who coolly dispatches the ball in at the near post.
Right on the 90th minute and best chance they have created all game forced a double save from Cho Hyun-Woo. It was great initial play in the middle of the park as Kim Kyu-Hyeong spreads the play out to the right hand side where Yong Lee delivers a beautiful ball into the box where Lars Veldwijk beat his man in the air before planting a bullet header towards the bottom right hand corner but Cho Hyun-Woo is equal to it but does parry it straight out to the onrushing Kim Hyun who forces a terrific double save from the Ulsan number 1. It would have been only a consolation but for terrific reflexes by the keeper to maintain his clean sheet.
It finishes three nil to Ulsan Hyundai in what was a comfortable victory for the reigning champions over Suwon FC. It was a terrific team performance and as soon as Gustav Ludwigson opened the scoring there was only going to be one winner and that was Ulsan Hyundai. The only question was by how many would they win by?
Next up for Ulsan Hyundai is an away trip to Jeju United on Sunday the 2nd of April when league duty resumes following the conclusion of the international break. The international break comes at a bad time for Ulsan as they have been excellent since the start of the new K-League 1 season winning all their opening four matches.
Suwon FC’s next fixture is an away trip after the international break where they will take on Gwangju FC away from home on Saturday the 1st of April. Suwon will be glad there is an international break to regroup and prepare to get back to winning ways against newly promoted Gwangju FC who have had a decent start to the season winning two of their 4 matches since being promoted. It will be a tight affair but set up for a classic.
Ulsan Hyundai: Cho Hyun-Woo, Kim Tae-Hwan, Jung Seung-Hyeon, Kim Young-Gwon, Seol Young-Woo, Park Yong-Woo, Darijan Bojanic (Lee Chung-Yong 64’), Kim Min-Hyeok (Cho Hyun-Taek 83’), Jang See-Young (Eom Won-Sang 18’), Gustav Ludwigson (Valeri Qazaishvili 83’), Joo Min-Kyu (Martin Adam 83’). Subs not used: Jo Soo-Hyuk, Lim Jong-Eun.
Suwon FC: No Dong-Geon, Kim Hyun-Hun (Jeong Dong-Ho 46’), Park Byung-Hyun, Lachlan Jackson, Lee Yong, Yoon Bit-Garam, Oh In-Pyo (Kim Hyun 64’), Park Cheol-Woo, Jeong Eun-Woo (Lee Kwang-Hyuk 18’, Kim Kyu-Hyeong 46’), Lars Veldwijk, Lee Dae-Gwang (Murilo 18’). Subs not used: Kim Hyun, Lee Bum-Young, Kim Ju-Yeop.
Reporter: Pearse McLaughlin
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