SEOUL, The two best teams in South Korean football kept their title race tight by each notching a victory Saturday.
Ulsan Hyundai FC defeated Suwon Samsung Bluewings 2-1 at home in Ulsan, 310 kilometers southeast of Seoul, to stay in first place in the K League 1 at 47 points. Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors remained five points back of Ulsan at 42, after holding off Seongnam FC 3-2.
Lee Gyu-sung and Um Won-sang each scored for Ulsan, which have gone undefeated in three matches.
An Byong-jun, a Japanese-born forward of North Korean descent, scored his first goal for Suwon in the 67th minute. The two-time K League 2 MVP joined Suwon on July 6.
Jeonbuk escaped with a one-goal victory over the worst club in the K League 1. Gustavo grabbed a brace for Jeonbuk, and Park Jin-seop had the other. Milos Raickovic scored during injury-time for Seongnam, but the last-place club ran out of time.
Jeonbuk have not lost in their past seven matches, with five wins and two draws. Seongnam have dropped four straight games.
Also on Saturday, Incheon United blanked Gimcheon Sangmu FC 1-0 for their first victory since June 22.
After Saturday’s matches, the K League 1 teams will go on a mini international break, with the East Asian Football Federation E-1 Football Championship running from next Tuesday to July 27.
South Korea will take mostly K League players to the biennial regional tournament in Japan. The K League 1 season will resume on July 30.
Source: Yonhap News Agency