“We were able to win this game at home, so that is good,” said Yoshida. “The players, staff and supporters all played a part in this win but it's still only the first leg, so we will have to prepare well for the second leg.

“Gwangju is a team that has a variety of ways of playing. I had anticipated they would try something different (played with six full-backs) and thankfully, we were able to counter that.

“Going into the game next week, I will not be thinking we are leading 2-0 but instead approach it as if the tie is still 0-0. Defending a lead is not my style of football and it will be something that I will align with the team as well.”

Having upset the form book at the start of the League Stage, Gwangju’s performance has been hit hard since the resumption of the competition as several key players departed from the squad during the close season of the K-League 1.

Head coach Lee Jung-hyo was understandably upset with the defeat but stopped short of accepting an exit with a minimum of 90 minutes of football still to be played in the tie.

“It's not easy to reflect immediately on the game as we lost but we have to prepare well for the second leg,” said Lee.

“We prepared a defensive way after analysing Vissel's game. We wanted to have an additional player at the back to prepare against the long balls but after we conceded two goals, it was hard to continue doing that.”