‘Let’s go to Final A’ Incheon, Ulsan leave massive away fans… 6th 1000 fans ‘imminent’ in 2023 season
Incheon United fans travel in large numbers to cheer for Final A qualification.
Incheon United will host Ulsan Hyundai in the 33rd round of the Hana OneQ K League 1 2023 at 3 p.m. on Aug. 8 at Ulsan Munsoo World Cup Stadium. Incheon is in sixth place with 12 wins, 11 draws and nine losses (47 points), while Ulsan is first with 20 wins, six draws and six losses (66 points).
Incheon were in the relegation zone with just three wins through May. Final A, let alone an Asian Champions League ticket, seemed out of reach. But the team has made a remarkable comeback. Since their first game in June, a 3-1 victory over Daejeon Hana Citizens, they’ve gone on to win nine, draw five, and lose three of their last 17 games to climb up to sixth place. They are only four points behind third-place Gwangju FC (51 points).
The team will need to secure a spot in Final A in order to qualify for the Asia Cup in the future. There is only one match left before Final A and B are split, with FC Seoul, Incheon, and Jeonbuk Hyundai competing for the two remaining spots 굿모닝토토.
Based on points and goal differential, Seoul is in fifth place (47 points and 55 goals), Incheon is in sixth (47 points and 38 goals), and Jeonbuk is in seventh (46 points and 37 goals). In the final match, Seoul and Jeonbuk will face each other, while Incheon will travel to Ulsan.
Incheon needs a win or a draw against Ulsan to qualify for Final A on their own. This will allow them to advance regardless of the outcome of the match between Seoul and Jeonbuk. If they lose to Ulsan, things get complicated. If Seoul beats Jeonbuk, it’s Final A, and if Jeonbuk beats Seoul, it’s Final B. In the case of a tie, Incheon and Jeonbuk will be tied on points and will have to compare goal differential and goal difference. The ranking method is Wins → Goals scored → Goal difference, and Incheon and Jeonbuk are evenly matched depending on the goals scored and goal difference according to the final match result. Currently, Incheon has a one-point lead in points, but is five points behind in goal differential, meaning that if the teams are tied in points, Jeonbuk will take the Final A ticket.
Incheon fans are traveling in large numbers to give the players and coaching staff a boost. As of 6:50 p.m., nearly 900 people had purchased tickets. The number could reach up to 1,000 with additional pre-sales and on-site ticketing.
As of the 2023 season, Incheon has had more than 1,000 away fans on five occasions. 3,216 against FC Seoul on the opening day, 1,078 against Daejeon Hana Citizens in Round 16, 1,631 against Suwon Samsung in Round 18, 1,020 against Suwon FC in Round 21, and 2,385 against FC Seoul in Round 24.
It will be interesting to see if they can surpass 1,000 against Ulsan.