Professional soccer K League 1 clubs Jeonbuk Hyundai and Pohang Steelers have reached the semifinals of the Korean Football Association (FA) Cup after defeating Incheon United and Jeju United, respectively. Jeonbuk and Pohang will play a single-leg match at Pohang for the championship on Thursday.

Jeonbuk defeated Incheon 3-1 in the FA Cup semifinals on Sunday afternoon at Jeonju World Cup Stadium, with Moon Sun-min scoring the opening goal and Baek Seung-ho and Park Jae-yong adding goals.

Jeonbuk, last year’s champions and tied with Suwon Samsung for the most wins in the competition with five, pressured Incheon from the start. In the 22nd minute, Moon Sun-min took a pass from Lee Soo-bin and beat the Incheon defense in the penalty area with a right-footed shot to give Jeonbuk a 1-0 lead.

However, Incheon’s counterattack was fierce. Incheon striker Mugosa had several chances to score, but his shots were either just wide of the goal or blocked by the Jeonbuk defense. Then, in the 38th minute, Gerso equalized the game with a left-footed shot after cutting in from the left flank.

The two teams battled back and forth in the second half before Baek Seung-ho scored the winner in the 16th minute to put Jeonbuk back in front. In stoppage time, Incheon Mboku was fouled by Lee Dong-joon as he broke through, resulting in a penalty kick, which Park Jae-yong calmly converted to drive a wedge into the match. On this day, 7310 spectators gathered at Jeonju World Cup Stadium.

“We have been aiming to win the FA Cup since the beginning of the season,” said Baek Seung-ho, who scored the winning goal, after the game, “and we will make history by preparing well for the final.

“After going to the Asian Games, I lost a lot of my fears and felt much more relaxed,” said Baek Seung-ho, who captained the national soccer team to victory at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games.

Jeju had their hopes of reaching the final dashed after losing on penalties (3-4) following a 1-1 draw in the semifinals against Pohang at Jeju World Cup Stadium on Sunday.

Pohang, who were set to win the FA Cup after Ulsan Hyundai clinched the title earlier in the day, conceded an early goal to Jeju but had the 스포츠토토 last laugh in a match that went to extra time after Jeju equalized. Pohang, who have won the title four times, will be looking to return to the top flight for the first time in a decade since 2013.