Joo Min-gyu of ‘Jumen’ is leading Ulsan’s solo run by rising to the top score alone.
Ulsan Hyundai won a 1-0 victory over Pohang Steelers in the 21st round of the ‘Hana 1 Q K League 1 2023’ held at Pohang Steel Yard at 6 pm on the 8th. With this, Ulsan, who recorded 53 points, broke the jinx of not winning 4 games in a row against Pohang, and widened the gap with Pohang in second place by 16 points, solidifying its overwhelming first place.안전놀이터
Ulsan struggled a bit in the first half. Director Kim Ki-dong came out with a strategy tailored to Ulsan this time as well. Pohang tried not to give Ulsan space as all players except Jeka did not cross the half line. Pohang made a threatening scene first. In the 4th minute of the first half, Park Seung-wook opened the door with a quick counterattack and a mid-range shot, and in the 6th minute of the first half, Kim In-seong’s 1-on-1 chance created by Jeka was blocked by goalkeeper Cho Hyun-woo.
However, in Ulsan, there was Ju Min-gyu, a solver. In the 23rd minute of the first half, Seol Young-woo broke down the left side and raised a sharp cross with his left foot, and Ju Min-gyu shook the net with a non-stop shot following excellent positioning. Afterwards, Pohang continued to beat until the end of the second half, but Ulsan’s goal was not opened and it ended with Ulsan’s victory.
Joo Min-gyu, who scored the winning goal against Pohang, rose to the top scorer alone. He scored the 11th goal, showing a steady scoring pace, surpassing Bako’s 10 goals, which was the joint top scorer in the team. It’s even more surprising when you look at the monthly goal tally. 2 goals in March, 3 goals in April, 3 goals in May, 2 goals in June, 1 goal in July, Joo Min-gyu did not take more than 3 games without a goal.
Joo Min-gyu is clearly ahead of the top scorer competitors. Na Sang-ho, who once became the leading scorer with crazy performances, scored his 9th goal from a penalty kick in the 21st round against Jeonbuk after not scoring for 8 games after the match against Gwangju on May 9. Cho Kyu-seong, who was the top scorer last season, is only scoring 5 goals due to injury and sluggishness, and is no longer a competitor as he is about to advance to Europe.
Since Jeong Jo-guk won the top scorer in 2016, all K League 1 top scorers have been foreign strikers. Then, in 2021, with 22 goals, Joo Min-gyu established the pride of a native striker in 5 years. Even after that, Ju Min-gyu competed with Cho Kyu-seong for the top scorer with 17 goals in 2022, and this season also shows formidable scoring power. Even if you look back since the 2010s, you will not come to mind except for Jeonbuk’s legend Lee Dong-guk, who is listed as the league’s all-time top scorer with 228 goals.
This is not the first time Joo Min-gyu has been in Ulsan. After the end of the 2018 season, he wore Ulsan’s uniform through a free contract, but was forced to move the team to Jeju, playing mainly as a replacement resource, due to the performance of foreign striker Junio, who was called ‘Goalkeeper’ at the time.
However, Ulsan fans remember Ju Min-kyu’s performance. At the time, he scored only five goals, but fans remembered his high-purity goals, such as equalizers and come-from-behind goals, even though he was given only 10 minutes of playing time.
Moving to Ulsan this season, Joo Min-gyu said, “The goal is, of course, to win. Since I don’t have a winning career, I have the motivation to become a player worthy of a winning team. I don’t think I will regret my choice.”
Ulsan is in the overwhelming first place, and Joo Min-gyu is still showing a perfect score by showing his scoring ability. The reunion of Ulsan and Joo Min-gyu is a great success if you look only at the present point, which is over the middle of the season.