"The match against Pohang will be different."

Jeonbuk Hyundai lost 2-3 in the second leg of the quarterfinals of the 2024-2025 season Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League 2 against Sydney FC, held at Sydney Football Stadium in Sydney, Australia, on the 13th at 5 p.m. (Korean time).

After losing 0-2 in the first leg held at Yongin Mir Stadium on the 6th, they were in a situation where a win was absolutely necessary to advance to the semifinals. Fortunately, Jeon Jin-woo, who started, scored two goals to equalize the aggregate score at 2-2, but then conceded goals consecutively and collapsed. Jeonbuk failed to advance to the semifinals with an aggregate score of 2-5.

Jeonbuk started in a 4-3-3 formation. Jeon Jin-woo, Park Jae-yong, and Jeon Byeong-kwan aimed to score, while Lee Young-jae, Boateng, and Kim Jin-kyu filled the midfield. Choi Cheol-soon, Park Jin-seop, Yeon Je-woon, and Kim Tae-hyeon formed the back four, and Kim Jung-hoon guarded the goal.

Kim Young-bin, Choi Woo-jin, Lee Seung-woo, Kang Sang-yoon, An Hyun-beom, Jin Tae-ho, Kwon Chang-hoon, and Gong Si-hyeon were waiting on the bench. Starting striker Kompanjo, along with veteran players Korean Young and Kim Tae-hwan, stayed in Korea to rest.

Sydney fields a 4-2-3-1 formation. Klimala is positioned at the forefront, with Antonis Cassares, Douglas Costa, and Joe Lolley making up the attacking midfield. Gamijo and Leo Sena stand in the midfield, while Courtney Perkins, Alex Grant, Ryan Grant, and Joel King form the back four. Deverneysh Mears put on the goalkeeper gloves. Sydney fielded the same starting lineup as in the first leg.

Jeonbuk took the lead in the 35th minute with a goal from Jeon Jin-woo, and then Jeon Jin-woo scored another goal in stoppage time, leading 2-0. However, they conceded a goal to Alex Grant in the 15th minute of the second half, followed by goals from Klimala in the 26th minute and Douglas Costa's penalty kick in the 35th minute, turning the match around to 2-3.

There were also disappointing moments, such as the VAR ruling that canceled An Hyun-beom's goal. Ultimately, Jeonbuk failed to score any additional goals and was unable to advance to the semifinals of the AFC Champions League 2.

After the match, head coach Gus Poirier of Jeonbuk stated, "The first half was good in terms of attacking the opponent. We need to analyze the three goals conceded in the second half."

He analyzed, "I think the problem is not specifically with particular players but rather with the overall team. After the first goal was conceded, the players mentally collapsed significantly."

Jeonbuk is experiencing an unfamiliar losing streak. He noted, "When I return to Korea tomorrow, there will only be one day of training after arriving. There are players remaining in Korea, and it seems we need to prepare with those players. Overall, looking back, I think we did well in preparing for today’s match regarding the starting lineup, but the result is disappointing."

Poirier emphasized, "Since there is a match against Pohang this weekend, we need to focus on the Pohang game now. It seems the players' poor performances from last season are repeating. Efforts are particularly needed in the mental aspect."

During a pre-match press conference on the 12th, Poirier expressed concerns about the condition of the pitch at the Sydney stadium. In fact, on this day, both Sydney and Jeonbuk players were often seen slipping during passing sequences. He said, "Honestly, it was not good. Fortunately, we had official training yesterday, so that was a relief. After the training yesterday, the pitch was a bit slippery. So, I told the players to prepare their soccer shoes well," indicating that adequate preparations had been made.

Jeonbuk desperately needs a change in momentum against Pohang. Poirier briefly mentioned, "I will consider it starting tomorrow."

Were there any difficulties preparing for this away game? He replied, "In terms of gameplay, there were no difficulties preparing for the match at all." There were minor issues regarding the press conference schedule, but the first training session held at Barton Park was excellent, and although the pitch condition was not perfect, there were no problems in assembling the best 11. The result, of course, is painful. If my memory serves me right, the last four-game losing streak as a coach happened during my time at Sunderland. The weekend match against Pohang will be different," he said.

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