Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors Hit The Ground Running in the AFC Champions League Two | OneFootball

A rotated Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors team initiated their campaign in the new AFC Champions League Two competition with a thumping 6-0 win over Dynamic Herb Cebu FC in Manila. There are many positives for the Green Warriors to take away from this result and performance, including 18-year-old Jin Tae-ho's excellent showing in his first appearance for the A team. Jeonbuk now makes it back-to-back 6-0 away victories after showing similar dominance against Suwon FC last weekend and are now in a great position to take a firm grip and lead in their ACL Two group.

How It Played Out

Starting XI: GK: Kim Jeong-hoon. DF: Kim Tae-hwan, Ku Ja-ryong, Lee Jae-ik, Jeong Woo-jae. MF: Yu Je-ho, Lee Soo-bin, Jin Tae-ho. FW: Moon Seon-min, Kim Chang-hoon, Park Jae-yong.

Jeonbuk started every A team player they brought with them to the Philippines. The bench consisted of U22 B team players, except for Choi Chul-soon.

15' The nine-time K League champions did not have to wait long to get in front against the Filipino opposition, with Jin Tae-ho leaping to get on the end of a dipping cross from Kim Tae-hwan near the byline. The 5"5 ft teenager headed Jeonbuk into the lead, scoring his first goal in his debut appearance for the first team.

Despite the low-grade pitch surface, Jeonbuk were comfortable in possession, perhaps because of being accustomed to playing on poor surfaces due to the substandard condition of K League pitches. The B team players play on similar turf in the K4 League, so this is hardly any different for them, to an even greater extent than the first team players.

22' Jin Tae-ho carefully controlled a bouncing pass he received in the final third after chesting it, as Jeonbuk looked to find an opening through the Cebu defence. Skillfully the 18-year-old used his agility to swiftly turn around and set himself up for a long-range shot on goal with his left foot, showcasing his proficiency with both feet, which he shot over the bar.

Jin's early goal may have boosted his confidence. Regardless, he caused the Cebu defenders a lot of problems. He performed very well throughout the game in a free role in and around the striker and at times closer to the wings, in a similar way Song Min-kyu plays.

36' Lee Soo-bin received the ball just outside the centre of the box and pretended to line up a shot but instead made an intelligent dink pass to Jin Tae-ho close to the penalty spot, who quickly reacted and used his head again, this time to assist Kim Chang-hoon waiting in free space to the left who makes it 2-0 Jeonbuk.

45+1 Jeonbuk would go into halftime 3-0 up. Moon Seon-min scored the third goal from a shot by Kim Chang-hoon, which the goalkeeper saved and palmed in front of Moon Seon-min, who slotted it away easily with what was the last kick of the first half.

Jeonbuk went into the break pleased to be comfortably leading. Cebu FC were very poor defensively, and a better team could have prevented the goals they conceded. However, Kim Do-heon won't mind at all, especially considering the season Jeonbuk have had. They'll take anything that comes their way.

49' Jeonbuk came out strong in the second half and got another goal less than five minutes after play resumed. There was some satisfying back-and-forth play down the right-hand side of the opponent's half between Kim Tae-hwan and Moon Seon-min. Within three passes, Moon Seon-min found himself in lots of space in the box and played it across to Park Jae-yong who became free when his marker was dragged across to close down Moon. Park easily places a shot into the back of the net. 4-0 Jeonbuk.

73' Summer signing Yu Je-ho struck a powerful and precise free-kick from about 20 yards out right into the top left corner of the goal to make it 5-0.

77' Substitute Park Chae-jun scored with a powerful shot from about 8 yards out, sending the ball across to the other side of the goal. He set himself up nicely with quick footwork after receiving the ball from 16-year-old Han Seok-jin. The goalkeeper got a touch and should have done better, but it was still a stylish goal from the young winger.

Full Time: Dynamic Herb Cebu FC 0-6 Jeonbuk.

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Optimism Moving Forward

Jin Tae-ho is someone to keep an eye on in the future. He only recently signed a professional contract in May, along with Han Seok-jin and Seo Jeong-hyeok. Jeonbuk fans have been eagerly waiting to see the U18 Korean international rise up the ranks and will only be more excited to see what else he can offer after putting on a man-of-the-match performance on his debut no less despite senior players like Moon Seon-min and Kim Tae-hwan playing alongside him.

Jeonbuk's passing was sharp, and the positional play was equally astute throughout the game. Cebu could not cope defensively with the quick passing, one-twos, and forwards drifting in and out of space. It does expose the gap in quality between the two sides, even with Jeonbuk fielding a blend of B team players and A team fringe players. Nevertheless, this result does make Jeonbuk undefeated in their last five encounters for the first time this season, four of which being victories and the last two being back-to-back 6-0 wins, and can give them confidence in fielding a second-string side in this competition, allowing them to breathe a little less heavily and focus efforts domestically on the fight against relegation.