Lee Sang-heon thanked the fans for supporting him despite going scoreless in his last five matches.
Gangwon FC came from behind to beat Suwon FC 2-1 in the 11th round of the Hana Bank K League 1 2024 at Suwon Sports Complex on Friday. Gangwon added three points and moved up to fourth place on goal difference, tied with Suwon FC (15 points) in fifth place in the league.
It was a thrilling win. After a 0-0 first half, Gangwon held on well in the second half before conceding the opening goal in the 32nd minute through Lee Seung-woo. However, they didn’t give up and pressed Suwon FC harder and harder, and after Cho Jin-hyuk equalized in the 37th minute, Jeong Jeong-min scored a late winner in the first minute of stoppage time to beat Suwon FC and snap a two-game losing streak.
Lee Sang-heon, however, was not all smiles. He and Yago formed an attacking line and attacked the Suwon FC goal, but were unable to get a single shot off. He was substituted for Jeong Jung-min in the 25th minute of the second half after failing to make an impact in the attacking third. Lee Sang-heon, who was the league’s top scorer at the start of the season with seven goals, went five games without a goal.
Lee was happy for his team’s victory but stressed about his own scoreless performance. “It was a three-game series, but the substitutes scored well at the end, so I want to give more meaning to the fact that we turned the tables. It was amazing that so many fans came out despite it being an away game,” he said, adding, “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t stressed. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t stressed and I can’t help but think about it (five games without a goal).”
However, he said he doesn’t mind as long as he can improve as a player for the team. “I’m going to keep playing as a team,” he said. Even if I don’t score a goal, as long as the team wins, we’re going in the right direction, so I’ll prepare better as a team.” “I have a role to play in the soccer that Kangwon wants to play. I have a role to play in the kind of football Kangwon wants to play, whether it’s not losing the ball when it comes in or playing selflessly, or defending. As a team, I will do my best in the role I am given and the time I am given.”
The match was also notable for the fact that he was facing off against Lee Seung-woo, who has been a close friend since elementary school. In April, he traveled to Suwon Sports Complex as a spectator to watch Lee in a match against Daejeon Hana Citizens. Lee did not start that day but scored a goal in the match, while Lee Sang-heon started but did not score a goal.
“In the Daejeon match, I played first and was a little stressed, so I came to visit. (Lee) and Seung-woo often spend time outside. I came to get some air and support Seung-woo.” “Today, Seung-woo scored a goal as soon as I left, and he’s definitely a classy player. I’m a Seungwoo fan 토토사이트 too. As a team, we won, but Seung-woo is Seung-woo. It was a strange feeling,” he said.
Lee Seung-woo also expressed his desire to compete with Lee Sang-heon for the top scorer award at the press conference after the Jeju United game. Lee said, “Personally, Seung-woo is a friend who I want to do better, and I’m always cheering for him. We want each other to do well, so I think he’s telling me to be more alert, and I’ll play as a team and take advantage of the chances that come my way,” he said, revealing his ambition to stay ahead in the scoring race.
Another reason he wants to get back into the top scorer’s race is the support of the fans. On the day of the match, Gangwon fans hung a rug in the stands that read “Sang-heon, we believe in you. The fans showed their trust in Lee, who is having the best moment of his professional career since moving to Gangwon this season.
“The fans gave me one too, and I was very touched,” said Sang-heon. “It says, ‘Sang-heon, we believe in you,’ but I was too good in the beginning, and now I’ve slumped a few games. They told me that the fans believe in me more in that aspect. It was the first time I’ve ever received a lanyard like that, so it was a new feeling and I felt like I had to do better,” he said, adding that he will continue to be a player who brings goals and victories to the fans.
