'Malkong is Back' Ulsan HD continues 'Tiger Cave Unbeatable' myth to FC Seoul

*This content was translated by AI.

Ulsan HD brings FC Seoul to its home turf to continue the legend of the tiger cave.

Ulsan will play the second round of Hana Bank K League 1 2026 against Seoul at 7:30 p.m. on the 15th at Munsu Football Stadium.

The match was postponed due to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League Elite (ACLE) tournament schedule in Seoul.

Currently, Ulsan is three points behind the leader Seoul (5 wins, 1 draw, 16 points) with four wins, 1 draw, and 13 points.

For Ulsan, it is a meaningful game with more than three points. This time, three points must be obtained to form a second-tier structure with Seoul by shaking off the pursuit of subordinates.

Ulsan was inferior to Seoul with one draw and two losses last season, but has faced off 183 times so far, recording 70 wins, 60 draws and 53 losses, and 58 wins, 53 draws and 45 losses in K League 1.

He was especially strong at home. Ulsan leads Seoul with 40 wins, 20 draws and 23 losses (35 wins, 18 draws and 20 losses in the K-League 1, 5 wins, 2 draws and 3 losses in the League Cup). Since the 1-1 draw on April 16, 2017, he has been undefeated in 13 matches (9 wins and 4 draws). The last time they lost to Seoul at home was 1-2 on April 24, 2016.

There is a player in Ulsan who has a strong connection to the home turf. It is Jung Seung-hyun, a former Ulsan Youth player and currently vice-captain.

Jung Seung-hyun has scored one goal in six league games this season, and is stably leading the defense in the absence of captain Kim Young-kwon. Jung Seung-hyun was replaced by Kim Chi-gon in the 13th minute of the second half in a match against Seoul held at home on April 24, 2016. He suffered a bitter loss of 1-2 at the time, but he started on April 16, 2017, and contributed to the 1-1 draw by playing full season, laying the foundation for Ulsan's home unbeaten streak against Seoul.

Another thing to pay attention to is Kim Yong-dae, Ulsan's last-minute teacher, goalkeeper coach. Coach Kim Yong-dae retired after playing in Ulsan from the 2016 to 2018 season. He returned to Ulsan as a goalkeeper coach last season and is currently coaching Cho Hyun-woo, Moon Jung-in, Choi Joo-ho and Ryu Sung-min. Goalkeeper Kim Yong-dae defended the Ulsan goal during the 1-1 draw with Seoul on April 16, 2017.

Cho Hyun-woo takes over senior Kim Yong-dae's baton (Ulsan's home win against Seoul). Cho Hyun-woo is still locking the back door with five runs and two clean sheets in six league games this season. On the 11th, he supported Ulsan's victory by blocking five of the six effective shots against Incheon United (2-1 win).

Ulsan won a thousand horses ahead of the match against Seoul. Solver Malkon (one goal in one game) reported a spectacular return. On the 11th, he replaced Yago in the 38th minute of the second half and led Lee Kyu-sung's cross to a header from the gate in the extra time of the second half against 1-1.

Malkong, who had no official record of playing since the match against Shanghai Port (0-0 draw) on February 18, burned his will by "losing 15kg in 50 days" to restore his past K-League appearance. With coach Kim Hyun-seok's thorough management and belief, he succeeded in losing weight and recovering confidence, regained his killer instinct, and opened the scoring for the first time in 239 days since the match against Suwon FC on August 16 last year. He will try to score goals in two consecutive games against Seoul.

Malkong said, "I was happy to have a moment to show my ability (against Incheon). Thank you to the director for giving me faith. I will show a performance that will captivate the fans no matter how much time I am given to play in the future," he vowed.

Yago (five goals in six games) who is Malkung's companion and good-natured rival also scored a goal in the match against Incheon by Lee Dong-kyung (one goal and three assists in six games). When Yago broke out this season, Ulsan always sounded the winning high school. Ulsan, prepared by Malkong, Yago, and Lee Dong-kyung, is ready to continue the formula in the match against Seoul.

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*This content was translated by AI.