Recap: Ulsan Hyundai 0-1 Jeju United

In a clash of two of last season's top teams, Jeju United found the back of the net in second half injury time to steal all three points from Ulsan Hyundai at Munsu Stadium on Sunday afternoon.  Both teams entered play yesterday winless in the K League thus far.  For the island side, it was a much needed three points to point themselves in a positive direction, while Ulsan have yet to score in three league matches this year.
(Image via jeju-utd.com)

Jeju entered play yesterday not having won since a Matchday 2 victory over Buriram United in the Champions League.  They finally found the net for the first time in league play this season, even though it took them the full ninety and then some to do it.  After a string of shaky performances, including back to back losses to Guangzhou, the defensive unit looked solid yesterday, keeping Ulsan off the scoreboard despite spells of pressure from the home side which could have tipped the encounter in their favor.

The match marked the return of Oh Ban-suk, who saw his first action in all competitions yesterday, proving why he is such an important element in Jeju's defensive scheme.

The first half didn't really spring into life, as the two sides shared three yellow cards among them, with Lee Myung-jae going into the book after only three minutes, while Lee Eun-boem and Lee Chang-min were carded in the 22nd and 29th minutes respectively.  Lee Chang-min did have a decent strike at goal in the 18th minute, but both teams went to the break goalless.

The introduction of Ryu Seung-woo just over ten minutes into the second half in place of Kwon Soon-hyung proved to be the right decision late on in the match.  The majority of the match was a defensive struggle on both ends, but things took a turn for the worse for the home side late on, as both Kim Seung-joon and Richard Windbichler were sent off.

Ulsan were stifled all day by a resolute Jeju defence.  Photo courtesy of uhfc.tv

For stretches in the second half, Jeju were the more threatening team, coming close on a few occasions to breaking the deadlock, but Ulsan's defence refused to give.

With the match seemingly headed for a draw, Ryu took advantage of a poor clearance at the back in second half injury time to fire home and propel Jeju into the lead just before the final whistle.

For Ulsan, it marked the third consecutive loss to open the season, and also the third consecutive league match without a goal.  Despite all their efforts, they just could not crack Jeju's back line.

With the league now headed into the international break, Jeju will next see action on March 31st at home against Suwon Samsung Bluewings, while Ulsan travels to the Steelyard to take on Pohang, who have jumped out to a great start this season having secured seven of a possible nine points after the first three rounds in league play.

The win moves Jeju to four points and up to seventh in the league table, while Ulsan are now the bottom-dwellers looking for answers as to how to turn the season in the right direction even though it is only early days.

Teams

Manager: Kim Do-hoon

Substitutes: Kim In-sung for Hwang Il-soo (60'); Kim Seung-jun for Junior (67'); Y. Toyoda for Han Seung-gyu (84'); Kang Min-soo, Moon Jung-in, Lee Young-jae, Jung Jae-yong

Manager: Cho Sung-hwan

Substitutes: Ryu Seung-woo for Kwon Soon-hyung (57'); Kim Do-youp for Lee Eun-beom (76'); Lee Chan Dong for Lee Dong-soo (84'), Roberson, Hwang Do-yeon, Park Han-keun, Jeong Da-hooeon

Referee: Kim Woo-sung
Assistants: Lee Jung-min, Kim Young-ha
Fourth Official: Seol Tae-hwan
Attendance: 4,479