It was a weekend of draws in the K League Classic, with five of the six matches ending with equal scorelines. There were some fine goalkeeping displays on show as well, and a couple nice goals.
K League Classic – Round 6 Results
Gyeongnam FC 2 – 2 Suwon Samsung
Sanju Sangmu 0 – 1 Jeju United
Seongnam 0 – 0 Incheon United 0
FC Seoul 1 – 1 Jeonbuk Motors
Jeonnam Dragons 2 – 2 Pohang Steelers
Busan IPark 0 – 0 Ulsan Hyundai
K League Challenge – Round 3 Results
Gwangju FC 0 – 0 Chungju Hummels
Gangwon FC 1 – 3 Daejeon Citizens
Suwon City 0 – 3 Ansan Police FC
Bucheon 1995 0 – 1 Anyang FC
Daegu FC 0 – 1 Goyang Hi
Mini-Recaps
Gyeongnam 2 Suwon 2
Gyeongnam and Suwon met in Jinju with both looking to make a move up the table. Things got off to a good start for Gyeongnam as Song Su-Young slotted home after a nice lofted pass. Suwon pushed for an equalizer in the first half, but got none. Their best ‘chance’ came when in stoppage time Roger Junior felt he was taken down in the area, but no call was given. Things got worse for Suwon early in the second half when Stojanovic backed into Koo Ja-Ryong, forcing the Suwon player off due to injury. Then immediately from the restart after the injury Gyeongnam scored their second. Lee Jae-An raced through the defense and shot across Jung Sung-Ryong into the far corner. Song Su-Young almost got his second when he received a nice pass in the area, but this time Jung got a foot to it. Suwon pulled one back through a free kick from Yeom Ki-Hoon, who curled it into the far corner with Kim Young-Kwang rooted to his spot. Kim Seul-Ki should’ve have restored Gyeongnam’s 2 goal lead, but he horribly mishit his shot when he was all alone in the area. Gyeongnam was made to pay for that error when Bae Ki-Jong tied things up after a cross from Jong Tae-Se. Both teams had chances to win it, with Stojanovic having the best chance, but his shot was parried by Jung Sung-Ryong.
Sangju 0 Jeju 1
Sangju Sangmu got off to the better start, with Lee Keun-Ho getting an early chance, but his shot lacked power and was easily saved. As the first half went on though, Jeju started to grow into the game with a number of half chances coming their way. Kim Hyun had Jeju’s best chance when his shot from outside the box hit the post. Jeju got the only goal of the game minutes later from Hugo Droguett. Song Jin-Hyung crossed and Droguett managed to steer the ball in. Chances came in the second half for both teams, Yoon Bitgaram spurned a good chance for Jeju, as his shot was blocked by Sangju keeper Kim Keun-Bae, and then bounced up onto the crossbar and out. In the end Jeju hung onto their one goal lead, and became the only team to earn all three points.
Seongnam 0 Incheon 0
Seongnam and Incheon met with both looking to get somemuch needed points. Incheon was winless after five, and Seongnam had just four points. Bae Seung-Jin had the first good chance, but his half volley was smothered by Park Joon-Hyuk. Moon Sang-Yoon had a great to give Incheon the lead as he found himself in front of goal, but the pass from Koo Bon-Sang was just behind him. Moon was unable to get the right angle on his shot and it went wide. Nam Joon-Jae tested Park Joon-Hyuk, but again the Seongnam stopper was equal to the task, palming away his curling shot. Seongnam meanwhile had failed to create any real chances in the first half. Only getting a half chance here or there that ended up nowhere near the goal. Their first real chance came in the 72′ minute when a curling free kick hit the post. Hwang Eui-Jo had one last effort for Seongnam in the 88′, but his low shot was pushed wide. In all, it was a pretty poor game from two teams that look to be struggling down at the bottom.
Seoul 1 Jeonbuk 1
A game that was ultimately decided by Yoon Il-Rok. Jeonbuk earned an early penalty in the 4′ as Yoon was adjudged to have pushed Lee Gyu-Ro in the area. Leonardo stepped up and sent Kim Yong-Dae the wrong way from the spot. Yoon made amends though in the 27′ as he split the Seoul defense and made an inch perfect shot from just outside the area. His shot just creeping inside the post, just out of the diving reach of Kwon Soon-Tae. In the second half both teams pushed for the winning goal, but neither could create any great chances. Both were limited to long-range efforts. The best chance came right at the end when Seoul earned an indirect free kick just inside the Jeonbuk area. Kim Jin-Kyu sent a powerful drive through the Jeonbuk wall, but the shot crashed off the underside of the bar. Yoon Il-Rok had one last chance to settle things for Seoul, but his free header missed the target.
Jeonnam 2 Pohang 2
Surprise package Jeonnam welcomed a surging Pohang team to Gwangyang. Jeonnam’s Shim Dong-Woon created the first chance. Shim used a nice piece of skill to create some space, but Pohang keeper Shin Hwa-Yong was up to the task blocked the shot with his leg. Jeonnam got another good chance from Park Gi-Dong. A long throw was flicked on, and Park got off a shot under pressure, but once again Shin saved. Jeonnam made the breakthrough just before the half with a spectacular goal from Hyun Young-Min. Hyun took a corner and, whether by intent or accident, it curled over everyone and into the far corner of the net. Pohang though, leveled the score shortly after the restart. Moon Chang-Jin with a nice reverse pass found the run of Kim Jae-Sung who slotted coolly past Kim Byung-Ji. Jeonnam had calls for a penalty turned down as Lee Hyun-Seung went down in the area. Replays show that he likely tripped over the ball. Lee Myeong-Joo continued his scoring run as he headed home a cross from Moon Chang-Jin. But the lead didn’t last long as minutes later Lee Jung-Ho had the home side level again after some fancy footwork by Stevica Ristic.
Busan 0 Ulsan 0
It was a match billed as a battle between the current top 2 goal scorers in the league, Ulsan’s Kim Shin-Wook and Busan’s Yang Dong-Hyun. Unfortunately for fans that tuned in to see a goalfest, they got a goalkeeping battle instead. Ulsan’s Kim Seung-Gyu and Busan’s Lee Bum-Young were both in top form Sunday afternoon. Kim and Lee, who may well go to Brazil this summer, both were called on multiple times to stop one-on-one attempts. Neither team was really able to get any great chances, and the good ones were stopped by the pair of keepers.
K League Classic Table – After Round 6
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K League Challenge Table – After Round 3
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There is midweek K League action this week. All 12 teams will play on Wednesday evening.
Jae, what’s your explanation on Seoul’s slow start? I’m not remotely worried that they’ll fall into relegation, but it’s a little peculiar to see them behind Gyeongnam or even Jeonnam in the standings, although they’ve only played a handful of matches so far
Seoul? I think they’re struggling to adapt to some of the changes that Choi Yong-Soo has implemented this season. The defense has gone from a 4-man line to a 3-man line (with wingbacks). The midfield is missing their experienced “general” in Ha Dae-Sung. And the attack is often a striker-less attack that relies on clever movement and bursts from deep or wide positions. If Seoul can start clicking in all areas they’ll be a vary dangerous team, but at the moment they’re just not quite right.
The other issue may be that the league has just gotten more competitive since the big clubs aren’t spending as much. Without those one or two difference makers, the top clubs aren’t really “top” anymore. With a couple exceptions at the very top and very bottom, anyone can beat anyone.