Ahead of away game, coach Hong Myung Bo “Glad we played last year, will win wisely”

By Kim Hyung-joong Reporter = K League One champions Ulsan Hyundai will take on Malaysian powerhouse Johor Darul Taqim.

Ulsan will host Johor in the fourth round of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League Group I at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium in Johor Bahru, Malaysia on July 7 at 9 p.m. KST. With a 2-1 record in Group I, Ulsan will move very close to qualifying for the round of 16 with a win.

Having won 3-1 at home against Johor in the third round of qualifying, Ulsan will be looking for a repeat performance. The team’s mental strength and motivation will be high, especially as they have a bad history with Johor from last season. Ulsan was also drawn in the same group as Johor last year and suffered two embarrassing defeats.

Speaking at the official pre-match press conference at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium on Saturday morning, head coach Hong Myung-bo said, “This is a very important match for us to advance to the round of 16. We won our last home game, but this is an away game and I think they will come out well prepared. We will train well today and prepare thoroughly so that we can play in good condition tomorrow.”

Ulsan clinched the K League 1 title last weekend. As a result, they can approach the game with a light heart. Head coach Hong Myung-bo said, “We’ve won the title, but we haven’t celebrated yet. All the players know the importance of the ACL and are focused on it. That’s why we will play the game with our focus on the ACL.”

Their opponents are expected to come out strong as Johor need a win to advance to the round of 16. “They are playing at home and will come out strong,” said Hong Myung Bo. We are expecting a difficult time, but if we handle it wisely, we will be able to win,” he said.

In the last three meetings, the team was outnumbered as Kim Tae-hwan was sent off in the first half. “Despite the ejection, we played a good game and won,” said Hong Myung-bo. “It’s important to be focused whether you have 10 or 11 players. We had a goal to win the last game. Tomorrow, we will play with the same number of players, but it might be difficult. We will prepare well with our players.”

Johor is the top team in Malaysia and has the most fans. Moreover, the fans are rumored to be passionate. “The good thing is that we have experience from last year. The players know enough about that and have the experience to deal with it. It depends on the game situation, but it’s important to divide the game into categories. We experienced it last season, so I don’t think it will have a big impact this time,” he said, adding that he is already familiar with it and is preparing for it. 토토사이트

He was then asked if they were missing some of their main players against Daegu FC in the last round of the K League, and if they were preparing for today’s match. In response, he said, “Not really. We play players who are in good shape for every game. We didn’t select the team with this game in mind. The players who can win the game should go out.