"First time in my coaching career": Coach Choi Yoon-kyum issues rare apology to Yoo Dong-gyu over 're-substitution' "I'm truly sorry... it was due to our desire to win" [Mokdong]

*This content was translated by AI.

Choi Yoon-kyum (64), head coach of YonginFC, expressed regret after drawing an away match against Seoul E-Land.

Yongin and Seoul E-Land drew 2-2 in the 12th round of the 'Hana Bank K League 2 2026' held at Mokdong Stadium on the 16th.

Both teams shared one point each. Yongin remained in 14th place with 10 points (2 wins, 4 draws, 5 losses), showing no change in ranking. Seoul E-Land also maintained 3rd place with 20 points (6 wins, 2 draws, 4 losses).

Yongin took the lead early in the first half with a goal by Choi Chi-woong from a corner kick situation. However, they lost momentum under Seoul E-Land's fierce attacks and allowed Eulher to equalize. Substitute Seok Hyun-jun, brought on in the second half, scored a thrilling header in stoppage time to seemingly secure an away victory, but conceded a painful equalizer from Baek Ji-woong in the 8th minute of stoppage time, narrowly missing a win.

After the match, Coach Choi Yoon-kyum said at a press conference, "The result is somewhat disappointing. If we had held on for just one more minute, we could have secured a lucky victory, but we missed that chance."

Regarding the struggle against Seoul E-Land's intense pressure, he admitted, "The game content was indeed dominated by the opponent. They showed significant individual skill and tactical changes, making our defensive line very difficult and causing us to lose possession."

Coach Choi Yoon-kyum stated, "The players effectively utilized the simple plays we had requested during the match. I want to thank the players for their hard work in securing a draw against a strong team despite the hot weather."

Notably, Coach Choi Yoon-kyum publicly expressed his sincere apologies to Yoo Dong-gyu regarding the unusual 're-substitution' incident that occurred during the match. Regarding his decision to remove a player who had been substituted in during the second half, he revealed, "This is the first time in my coaching career that such an event has happened." He added, "I want to take this opportunity to sincerely apologize to Yoo Dong-gyu. My strong desire for victory led me to make that decision."

While acknowledging the coaching staff's role in the set-piece tactic that produced the opening goal, Choi also pointed out the need for improvement. Coach Choi Yoon-kyum explained, "It was one of several prepared patterns. It was the result of the responsible coach continuously consulting with the players and training to improve its execution."

However, he added, "I consider today's set-piece results to be a 50-50 situation. We scored through set plays, but we also conceded goals. Since our defensive shortcomings were exposed, we cannot blame the players. Going forward, we will thoroughly analyze and improve with the coaching staff."

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*This content was translated by AI.