Ko Young-jun has been in great form this season, and he continued that form in the FA Cup 메이저놀이터.
The Pohang Steelers defeated Seongnam FC 3-0 in the fourth round (Round of 16) of the 2023 Hana OneQ FA Cup at Tancheon Sports Complex at 7 p.m. on April 24. With the win, Pohang advanced to the next round of the competition.
Pohang took an early lead in the match. In the ninth minute, Ha Chang-rae headed in a corner kick from Ko Young-joon to open the scoring. Pohang continued to dominate the offense and widened the gap in the 28th minute when Lee Ho-jae calmly slotted home a ball from Ko Young-joon after a flank break.
In the early stages of the second half, Pohang was shaken by Seongnam’s counterattack, but the team regained its center and scored a wedge goal to break Seongnam’s will to chase. In the 14th minute of the second half, Pohang stripped the Seongnam defense with a flanking play, and Kim Seung-dae’s decisive pass was converted by Lee Ho-jae.
The goal rattled the net once more, but it was ruled offside. Lee Ho-jae scored from a corner kick, but it was ruled that Cho Jae-hoon was offside. If the goal had been allowed to stand, Lee would have gotten a hat trick and Go Young-joon would have gotten an assisted hat trick.
Although the assist hat-trick was denied, Ko Young-joon started the game and played the entirety of the match. In addition to his two assists, he was also the link in the attack, running through the center and flanks of the second line. Even when Seongnam dropped back and put pressure on him, he used his low center of gravity to keep the ball, and his one-touch passes and turns helped Pohang’s fast-paced attack.
Ko Young-joon’s performance this season has been quite good. After scoring six goals and adding four assists in all competitions last season, he now has five goals and one assist in the league alone, including his two assists today. He has been one of the league’s standout young players this season, performing at the level of a Tal U-22 resource. On this day, he lived up to the expectations placed on him.