K League Classic: Round 17 Results and Round 18 Preview

There were more midweek games for the K League Classic, and all 14 teams will be in action on Saturday.

Round 17 Results

Daegu 0 Gangwon 0 – A result that helps neither team. Daegu and Gangwon remain rooted in the bottom three. One may escape depending on Gyeongnam.

Gyeongnam 2 Jeju United 4 – Jeju’s Brazilian striker, Pedro Junior, continued his goalscoring run, netting a hattrick against a quickly deteriorating Gyeongnam team.

Daejeon Citizens 0 Busan IPark 0 – Daejeon remains bottom, and Busan may rue these dropped points later. Due to other results, Busan remains in the top half for now, but three points here would have helped create a little breathing room.

Chunnam Dragons 1 Incheon United 1 – Incheon could have taken a big step towards the top if they had won, and Chunnam could have taken a big step towards the top half in they had won. As is, both drew and basically maintained the status quo.

FC Seoul 3 Seongnam Ilhwa 0 – Seoul continued their domination over Seongnam at home, with a comfortable 3-0 win. Seoul converted an early penalty, and then a red card for Seongnam’s Lim Chae-Min essentially ended things. Two more goals, from Molina and national team call up Yun Il-Lok sealed the deal.

Pohang Steelers 0 Jeonbuk Motors 2 – Jeonbuk continues their climb since the return of Choi Kang-Hee. Two goals in the first 10 minutes of the game, from Park Hee-Do and Lee Dong-Gook were enough for Jeonbuk.

Suwon Samsung 0 Ulsan Hyundai 0 – It was honors even in Suwon with a scoreless draw being the result. Suwon remains close to the relegation half, while Ulsan inched closer to Pohang at the top.

Round 18 Preview

Chunnam Dragons vs FC Seoul – A likely close match-up. Seoul is currently 9th in the table and Chunnam is 10th. A Chunnam win would bring them level on points (but Seoul has a considerable goal difference advantage +6 vs -3). When the two met a month ago, Seoul recorded a comfy 3-0 result. A draw however, seems the likely result. Seoul has been quite poor on the road, but Chunnam isn’t a dominant team, even in Gwangyang.

Busan IPark vs Jeonbuk Motors – A potentially interesting match-up. Busan has been fairly steady at home, and only one visiting team (Incheon) has left the Asiad with max points. Jeonbuk will be looking for a bit of revenge, as they fell in Jeonju to Busan 4-1. This one would seem to be a typical defense vs offense game. Busan has allowed the fewest goals in the league (17, tied with Incheon) while Jeonbuk has scored the most (33).

Gangwon FC vs Gyeongnam FC – A battle at the bottom. Gyeongnam has been in free fall lately, but could get something against Gangwon. A team just below them, but will want to win and leap them. Gyeongnam has had major defensive problems lately, conceding 11 goals in their last three matches.

Jeju United vs Suwon Samsung – The top half of the table is very close together. Four teams have 27 points, and Jeju and Suwon are two of them. Jeju has been one of the more in-form teams in the league, picking up 11 points from their last 6 matches. Suwon has been a bit poorer, only getting 7 points from the same number. Suwon has also been poor on the road, losing their last three away matches.

Seongnam Ilhwa vs Pohang Steelers – Which team can bounce back better will be the question here. Both teams are coming off of painful losses. Seongnam fell to Seoul, while Pohang lost to Jeonbuk. Seongnam has actually been a bit better away, while Pohang has suffered a bit on their travels. Pohang will go into this match knowing that Ulsan will likely take max points from their match, and could overtake them for 1st place.

Incheon United vs Daegu FC – A tough match for Daegu, who still hasn’t won away from home this season. Incheon hasn’t been rock solid at home, but they should be enough to win here.

Ulsan Hyundai vs Daejeon Citizens – Daejeon’s lone win of the season was on the road, but it seems highly unlikely they’ll repeat the feat against Ulsan, who has the best home record in the league. Ulsan will know if they win, and Pohang drops points against Seongnam, they’ll move into first place.