Despite 5-1 Big Win... Hwang Sunhong Focuses on 'First Conceded Goal' [Asian Games]

"Leading by Two Goals Then Playing Loosely"
"Must Not Be Psychologically Swayed"

The 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games men's football team, led by coach Hwang Sun-hong, defeated the Kyrgyzstan team with an overwhelming score of 5-1. However, Coach Hwang warned about the team's 'first conceded goal' in this Asian Games, calling it a "lesson learned."

The match took place on the 27th at the Jinhua Sports Center Stadium in Zhejiang Province, China. On that day, South Korea took a 2-0 lead in the first half with a penalty kick goal by Baek Seung-ho (Jeonbuk) and a header goal by Jung Woo-young (Stuttgart). However, at the 28th minute of the first half, South Korea conceded their first goal due to a mistake by Baek Seung-ho.

Coach Hwang Sun-hong [Image source=Yonhap News]

Maintaining a precarious 2-1 lead until the 29th minute of the second half, Hwang Sun-hong's team then scored three goals over about 10 minutes, securing a decisive victory with a dominant score difference. Nevertheless, Coach Hwang focused more on the mistake that led to conceding a goal.

At the post-match press conference, he said, "I am glad we advanced to the next round," but also pointed out, "Football is a game of momentum. If you fail to crush your opponent when you have the upper hand, you end up giving them chances."

He continued, "I hope we don’t have matches like this in the future," adding, "After scoring two goals first, we played loosely, and besides the conceded goal, there were many mistakes and dull passes."

He also emphasized, "We struggled psychologically in the first half under pressure. Such situations will occur frequently once we reach the quarterfinals. We must not be shaken mentally. We will organize these aspects and prepare for the next match."

The quarterfinal will be played against China, the host country of this Asian Games. Previously, South Korea recorded one win and one loss in a two-match friendly series against China in June.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.