South Korea international midfielder Hong Hyun-seok scored two goals and added an assist to lead Gent to a convincing victory in a UEFA Europa Conference League (UECL) qualifier.
Ghent defeated Vikingur Göta (Faroe Islands) 4-1 in the first leg of the 2024-2025 UECL second qualifying round at the Ghent Arena in Ghent, Belgium on Saturday (June 26), led by Hong’s three attacking points, including a goal and an assist.
The big win puts Ghent in a strong position to advance to the third qualifying round.
The second leg between Ghent and Vikingur will take place on February 2.
Hong Hyun-seok started as a central midfielder in a 4-2-3-1 formation and played until the end of the match.
He scored the equalizer to make it 1-1, assisted on a teammate’s comeback goal, and then scored the game-winning goal in stoppage time.
Gent went behind to Jørgen Nielsen in the 13th minute from a Vikingur corner, but Hong equalized in the 25th minute to level the score.
Hong rattled the net with a powerful left-footed shot from the penalty area in front of the goal.
In the second half, with the score tied at 1-1, Hong also helped his team come back.
In the 14th minute of the second half, Hong received the ball in front of the goal and slipped the ball to Sven Coombs, who rushed into the penalty area with his back to the defense and finished to make it 2-1.
A penalty kick from Yulin Desjardins in the 23rd minute of the second half made it 4-1 before Hong Hyun-seok made it 4-1 in the 43rd minute.
Archie Brown’s cross from the left flank was poorly handled by the goalkeeper and the ball dropped right in front of him, where the onrushing Hong stuck out his foot to rattle the net.
Vikingur is a member of the Faroe Islands Premier League, an autonomous Danish territory. 메이저사이트