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Professional football’s K League One Gwangju FC enjoyed its first three-game winning streak of the season after a multi-goal performance from Thomas came from behind to beat ‘bottom’ Suwon Samsung.

Gwangju rode a one-man show from Thomas, who scored two goals on his own, to a 2-1 home win over Suwon in the 17th round of the Hana OneQ K League 2023 at Gwangju Stadium on 7 July.

With the win, Gwangju (24-23 points) continued the momentum of their first three-game winning streak of the season and moved up one place from seventh to sixth.

Gwangju are level on points with seventh-placed Jeonbuk Hyundai (24-20 points) and eighth-placed Daegu FC (24-19 points), but are higher on goal difference.

‘Bottom’ Suwon, on the other hand, were unable to defend their lead and slumped to their fourth consecutive defeat.

Gwangju wasted a great chance in the 15th minute when Asani’s shot from the right side of the penalty area went just wide of the left post.

In the 36th minute, Asani’s left-footed free-kick from the left side of the penalty area failed to clear the defence.안전놀이터

After struggling to capitalise on their chances, Suwon took the lead in the 40th minute through a ‘one-shot one-kill’ from Ahn Byung-joon.

A ball in from the back was played in by Lee Sang-min near the penalty spot, and Ahn Byung-joon was on hand to slot the ball into the right corner of the Gwangju goal with a precise left-footed shot from the left side of the penalty area. It was Suwon’s first shot on goal against Gwangju on the day.

After conceding first in the first half, Gwangju rallied for two goals in the second half, both of which came from Thomas.

After coming on from the bench in the eighth minute of the second half, Thomas scored his K League 1 debut in the 23rd minute with a right-footed shot from the right side of the penalty arc following a ball in from the left flank by Doo Hyun-seok.

With the score tied at 1-1, Gwangju’s ‘theatre upset’ came in the 45th minute, and Thomas was the hero.

Thomas rattled the Suwon net with a powerful right-footed shot from the right side of the goal area in the midst of a scramble to seal the win.

Elsewhere at the Jeonju World Cup Stadium, Jeonbuk Hyundai defeated Daegu FC 1-0 thanks to a Song Min-gyu goal to record their first back-to-back wins of the season and move up one place to seventh in the table.

Meanwhile, Daegu, who were unbeaten in their last five matches (three wins and two draws), saw their momentum stalled and dropped from fifth to eighth.

Jeonbuk took the lead in the 26th minute when Hafa Silva struck a right-footed shot from the edge of the penalty area that hit Daegu’s right post and deflected away.

Jeonbuk ended the first half fruitlessly three minutes later when Jung Woo-jae’s pass down the right flank was met by Song Min-gyu with a non-stop right-footed shot from the front of the penalty area, but it sailed over the crossbar.

Jeonbuk finally broke through in the second half, and Song Min-gyu was the hero.

In the 20th minute, Song Min-gyu collected a deflected ball from the left side of the penalty area and used a powerful right-footed curling shot to put the ball into the right corner of the Daegu goal to complete the win.

It was the second consecutive game that Song Min-gyu, who had previously registered an assist in the 16th round, recorded an offensive point.

At the Incheon Sports Complex, Incheon United drew 1-1 with FC Seoul after an early goal from Hwang Eui-jo failed to prevent a ‘one-timer’ in the second home match of late coach Yoo Sang-chul’s honour.

The result extended Incheon’s unbeaten run to five matches (W1 D4 L1), but they fell short of recording their first back-to-back wins of the season.

However, Incheon (19 points) moved back into ninth place, dropping Suwon FC (18 points) to 10th.

Seoul (28-30 pts), who share a point with Incheon, moved up to third on goal difference ahead of Jeju United (28-26 pts).

The game against Seoul was Incheon’s first K League 1 match on the same day that honorary coach Yoo Sang-cheol passed away.

Last year, the first anniversary of Yoo’s passing two years ago after a battle with pancreatic cancer, Incheon did not play a K League 1 match due to a conflict with the A-Match.

It was Incheon who took the early lead.

In the 19th minute, Kim Bo-seob sent in a cross from the left flank, and after a battle with Lee Tae-seok, Gerso rattled the net with his left foot.

Lee Tae-seok, who suffered a head injury in the process and fell to the ground, continued to play through bandages, and seven minutes into the second half, Ki Sung-yong and Hwang Eui-jo combined to equalise.

Driving forward from the opposition half, Ki Sung-yueng deceived the defence with an exquisite heel pass to create space for Hwang Ui-jo to shoot from behind the penalty area.

Hwang Ui-jo then curled a right-footed shot that deflected off a defender in mid-flight and found the bottom corner of the net.

It was the third goal of the season for Hwang Ui-jo, who is out of contract after a six-month loan spell with Seoul, and his first in eight games since joining Suwon in April.

At Chuncheon Songam Sports Town, Daejeon Hana Citizen (25 points) moved into fifth place with a 2-1 win over Gangwon FC (12 points) to end a run of four games without a win (one draw and three defeats).

Gangwon, on the other hand, failed to escape the ’11th place trap’ as they continued their winless run in their last seven matches (two draws and five losses).

After taking the lead through Thiago in the 26th minute, Daejeon conceded an equaliser through Gangwon’s Park Sang-hyuk, who took advantage of a defensive error three minutes into the second half, but Joo Se-jong headed in his season’s best goal 14 minutes from time to seal the one-goal victory.