Ulsan Hyundai, a club from Korea Republic, advanced to the Quarter-Final after beating Ventforet Kofu, a club from Japan’s second-tier league, scoring 2-1 in the AFC Champions League 2023/24 Round of 16 East Zone second leg at Japan National Stadium, Tokyo.
Kofu is the side lost the first match 0-3, and will head to the second match at the Japan National Stadium in search of many points.
From the start of the match, Kofu applied aggressive pressing, avoiding risks and forcing Ulsan Hyundai to connect with the ball. However, crosses from Chokai and midfielder Junma Miyazaki, who had gone deep, were not able to pass through in a good way, and after eight minutes, Miyazaki’s shots were successively blocked by Korean national team goalkeeper Cho Hyun-woo, leading to an onslaught of attacks in the early stages. is over.
Then, in the 11th minute of the first half, Ulsan Hyundai took control of the game with a chance. Former Japan national team midfielder Hitoshi Esaka, facing forward in the midfield , sent a floating through ball behind the Kofu final line. Lee Dong-kyung, who broke through to this, created a ball and midfielder Uhm Won-sang took a shot. This hit the left post, but midfielder Kim Ji-hyun, who was in front of the goal, pushed it in.
Kofu, who were trailing with a total score of 0-4 in the second match, then stole the ball from a high position against Ulsan, who had possession of the ball, and created a number of chances with counter attacks. Still, in the 35th minute, Gonzalez’s mid-range shot was blocked by goalkeeper Cho Hyun-woo, and successive opportunities from Utaka, Kimura, Choumi, midfielder Kazuhiro Sato , and Sekiguchi failed to break down the opponent’s defense. And just like that, halftime arrived.
At the start of the second half, Kofu brought in Adaiuton in place of Miyazaki . They did not give up and continued to gain momentum, and in the 3rd minute, Utaka got a chance from Kimura’s pass. However, his left-footed shot hit the opposing defender and went wide. In the 51st minute, Chokai’s mid-range shot was intercepted by Cho Hyun-woo, and time passed without a goal.
In the 65th minute, Kofu’s Kimura attempted a mid-range shot from a secondary attack from a set piece, but it just missed the target. In the 22nd minute, Utaka took a decisive left-footed shot from a chance created by Kimura, but this, too, was blocked by a fine save from Cho Hyun-woo.
Still, in the 88th minute, Sanpei, who came on as a substitute, showed his determination by scoring a header from Kobayashi Iwao.
However, in the 4th minute of added time in the second half, Kofu broke through on the left side and delivered a cross to Cho Min-gyu, who came on as a substitute, to score the winning goal. After scoring two points in the second game, they once again succumbed to Ace’s scoring ability.
The game’s time is up. Kofu’s Asian challenge ended as they lost to Ulsan Hyundai 1-2 and 1-5 on aggregate.
Credit Photo : AFC
