WK League News

Incheon Hyundai Steel Red Angels lost their AFC Women’s Champions League semi final yesterday in a heartbreaking 1-0 loss to Melbourne City F.C. Battling the heat and humidity of Wuhan in central China, Hur Jeong-jae’s side played well and had a number of opportunities to score, squandered opportunities that will be haunting the Red Angels after Shelby McMachon’s stoppage time screamer took Melbourne City into the final.

Both Incheon and Melbourne arrived in Wuhan having finished first in their respective groups, securing them the home advantage for their quarter final matches. The Red Angels faced Bam Khatoon at the Incheon Namdong Asiad stadium in March, beating the Iranian side 1-0 with a late goal from rookie Kim Myungjin. The following day, Melbourne City comfortably saw off Taiwan’s Taichung Blue Whale 3-0 at the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium.

Ahead of the semi final, the managers of both teams acknowledged their opponent’s quality and anticipated a fierce fight. Incheon’s Ko Yujin also highlighted the importance of the competition, and the Red Angels’ participation therein, for Korean women’s football. The stage was set for a fast-paced battle to claim a place in the final against Wuhan Jiangda, who defeated Ho Chi Minh city 2-0 earlier in the day in front of a delighted home crowd.

Both Incheon and Melbourne created chances early in the first half but were unable to convert any of them into an all-important goal. It soon became clear that neither team would be claiming an easy victory. After half time, with the score still standing at 0-0, a tangible sense of urgency began to take hold, with play moving quickly from one end to the other, and back again, as each team attempted to catch the other off guard with a quick attack on the break. As the 90 minute mark drew nearer, Incheon appeared to be gaining the upper hand, with Melbourne City’s goalkeeper Malena Mieres making some crucial saves as half time substitutes Seo Jiyeon and Haruhi Suzuki closed in. With only a few minutes of regular time remaining, Incheon’s Kim So-eun dropped to her knees in frustration as Mieres punched another shot wide of her goal.

With a minimum of three minutes of stoppage time added on, extra time seemed almost inevitable. With Melbourne in possession as the clock approached 93 minutes, Incheon’s defence continued to frustrate their opposition, forcing them to repeatedly pass backwards, until suddenly an excellent pass from a Melbourne defender found Lourdes Bosch high on the left wing. As Bosch dribbled towards goal, Incheon’s defence were drawn into the box to deal with the immediate threat and Melbourne’s Leticia McKenna managed to slip the ball to 17-year-old Shelby McMahon, who was left with enough space to control it with her first touch and absolutely rocket it into the back of the net with her second. Keeper Kim Minjung tried to get a hand to the ball, but it had been hit with such speed and strength that there was nothing she, or any goalkeeper in her position, could do.

With mere seconds left on the clock, the Red Angels made one final attempt to rush Melbourne’s defence but there simply wasn’t enough time. As the final whistle blew and the Melbourne players ran to embrace each other, the physical and emotional exhaustion of the evening seemed to catch up with the Red Angels all at once. Some dropped to the ground in disbelief, others stood rooted to the spot as if disoriented, processing the cruelty of losing in such a gut-wrenching manner.

While the Red Angels and their fans are no doubt sorely disappointed that they weren’t able to go all the way in this, the first AFC Women’s Champions League, they can return to Korea proud of an excellent campaign. Even in this final outing of their continental adventure, the fact that the score was still 0-0 three minutes into stoppage time is proof that Incheon fought right to the end in arduous conditions against tough opponents. While Incheon Hyundai Steel won’t be bringing home the AWCL title this time, they have still written themselves into the history books of Asian women’s football by representing Korea at the inaugural edition of the tournament.

Looking ahead, Incheon can now focus on their 2025 WK League campaign. The eleven-time champions have had a slightly underwhelming start to the season so far but with their continental commitments out of the way, Hur Jeong-jae’s team can take advantage of the upcoming international break to recover, regroup, and return to the league with renewed purpose.

While the Red Angels won’t be taking part in the AWCL final this weekend, two former Red Angels will be: Korean national team captain Kim Hyeri, and Terry Engesha, both of whom now play for Wuhan Jiangda after leaving Incheon at the end of last season. Kickoff is at 20:00 local time (21:00 KST) on Saturday, and the match will be streamed live via The AFC Hub on YouTube.