I will add more to this post tomorrow – but the busy activities of Easter holiday have taken a toll on me, not to mention the outlandish amount of reading I’ve had to do this weekend – not totally a holiday. For now, here are the bare bones – the results in the K League Classic:
FC Seoul 1:0 Jeju
Suwon BW 2:1 Busan
Daejeon 1:4 Seongnam (sigh)
Jeonbuk 1:0 Pohang
Jeonnam 1:0 Incheon
Ulsan 2:0 Gwangju
Rather late but better late than never? Here’s a quick look at all the games.
Suwon 2-1 Busan
Suwon were met with injury trouble in the first half as last year’s top scorer Santos had to be subbed off very early into the match. The Bluewings’ best chances were on the counter attack and through setpieces as Min Sanggi headed home on 28 minutes. After Busan player Joo Sejong was red carded for ramming into the back of a Suwon midfielder (earning a suspension to come with – not ideal as Joo is one of the key players in this Busan side), Suwon should have had an easy 3 points. Not so, as they conceded two chances off of 100-yard longballs – the first resulting in a saved penalty, the second a goal for Wesley. Busan could not cling on to the point though, as Kim Eunsun chipped home a rebound on the last kick of the game to secure the three points for Suwon.
Note: Kim Eunsun’s celebration at the end was one of total relief and ecstasy… surely because he has had a frustrating couple of weeks – falling ill in Australia, being taken to hospital, being called up to the KNT but not playing or training much due to fatigue and illness… hate Suwon or like Suwon, you could appreciate Kim’s sentiment.
Seoul 1-0 Jeju
Park Chuyoung was on the bench for the tie against speedy Jeju United. There were worrying signs for Jeju as Fernando Karanga went down after pulling his hamstring in the 7th minute. Lopez missed some glorious chances for Jeju in the first half. Park CY was subbed on at halftime and Seoul’s sole and unique strategy seemed to be “get the ball to PCY ASAP”. Indeed, Seoul threatened but Park never got a shot away. Instead, it was Everton Santos pouncing on a rebound off of a setpiece. The ball was aimed at Park Chuyoung who was double-teamed, hit the post and bounced fortunately to an unmarked Everton. Seoul secure 3 points on PCY’s debut.
Daejeon 1-4 Seongnam
Not much I want to say here. Daejeon’s centerback pairing continues to baffle as they have not yet seemed to acquired the long lost art of marking runs or playing an effective offside trap. Utter disaster. Adriano scored Daejeon’s first of a year on a fortunate error by Seongnam GK Park Junhyuk, but Kim Dooheon, Seongnam’s big off-season acquisition, scored a hat trick. Unimportantly, it earned him a spot on FIFA 15’s Team of the Week bench.
Moving on to less painful things…
Jeonbuk 1-0 Pohang
Well, in all honesty, painful is the word to describe the Jeonbuk-Pohang game at Jeonju World Cup Stadium. Moritz was back on the bench for Pohang while Lee Ho seems to have missed out due to injury for Jeonbuk. Lee Donggook started on the bench. Ko Muyeol had a couple chances but Kwon Suntae only needed to palm them away. Jeonbuk’s goal, however, was indeed a work of art. Lee Juyong’s cross finding Lee Donggook who delived a perfectly weighted cross that found Edu. That was all she wrote in rainy Jeonbuk. Even Hwang Sunhong needed a towel to wipe his glasses several times during the game.
Ulsan 2-0 Gwangju
Ulsan took the lead through a rather lucky first tally – a very random, needless own goal by the Gwangju defense. Kim Seunggyu protected Ulsan’s lead with 6 saves on the day, a pair of simply spectacular ones. Kim Shinwook used his height to secure the three points in the second half, nodding home a cross from … This was the first loss for Gwangju on the year. It was also the first time Yoon Jonghwan started strikers Kim Shinwook and Yang Sangmin in the same team.
Jeonnam 1-0 Incheon
Judging from the highlights, this was really a game with few chances. Lee Jongho’s deflected shot was the difference in a match that Jeonnam probably deserved to win with their energy and effort.
The Table after Round 4
1. Ulsan (10pts, +6)
2. Jeonbuk (10pts, +4)
3. Suwon (9pts)
4. Gwangju (7pts)
5. Jeonnam (6pts, +1)
6. Pohang (6pts, -1)
7. Jeju (5pts)
8. Seongnam (4pts, -1, 5 goals scored)
9. Busan (4pts, -1, 4 goals scored)
10. Seoul (3pts)
11. Incheon (2pts)
12. Daejeon (A big fat 0 with -11 goal differential. Yikes.)
Team of the Week
GK: Kwon Suntae (Jeonbuk)
LB: Hyun Youngmin (Jeonnam)
CB: Kim Jinkyu (Seoul)
CB: Cho Seonghwan (Jeonbuk)
RB: Cha Duri (Seoul)
DM: Kim Eunsun (Suwon)
DM: Osmar (Seoul)
LW: Lee Jongho (Jeonnam)
CM: Kim Doohyun (Seongnam) (MOTW)
RW: Leo (Suwon)
ST: Edu (Jeonbuk)
Bench:
Kim Seunggyu (Ulsan)
Min Sanggi (Suwon)
Lee Myungjae (Ulsan)
Hwang Euijo (Seongnam)
Wesley (Busan)
Kim Shinwook (Ulsan)
Lopez (Jeju)
Hall of Shame:
Daejeon centerbacks
Daejeon fullbacks
Daejeon setpiece defending
Daejeon attendance
Daejeon weather
Grumble something Daejeon something
K League Challenge Recap
Gangwon 4-0 Bucheon – Second half explosion for Gangwon sees them beat a poor Bucheon side
Seoul E 1-1 Daegu – Sending off and conceding late ruins Seoul E-Land first win bid in front of 2,508 at the Olympic Stadium
Anyang 1-2 Goyang – Shock win for Goyang sees them go 2nd in the K League Challenge
Chungju 0-2 Suwon FC – Visitors dispose easily of weak Chungju side in front of 900 spectators
Gyeongnam 1-3 Sangju – Lee Junghyub gets his second of the season at Sangju go top in battle of the relegated sides.
That’s all for now. Thanks for reading and Jalgayo from the TSQ
Join in the Tavern's conversations -Leave a comment...