Jeonbuk beat Gangwon for first win in six games

Kim Bo-kyung celebrates in this file photo after scoring a goal for Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors against Daegu FC on Feb. 27 at DGB Daegu Bank Park in Daegu. [YONHAP]

Defending champions Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors cut their winless streak to five matches on Saturday, beating Gangwon FC 2-1.

At Gangneung Stadium in Gangneung, Gangwon, Jeonbuk scored two goals in the first half, with Park Gyu-min opened the scoring in the 20th minute and Kim Bo-kyung adding the second goal in the 38th minute.

Gangwon’s Kim Dae-won scored Gangwon's first goal in the 72nd minute, but the damage was already done. Gangwon tried leveling the score with five minutes left on the clock, with Yang Hyun-jun slotting a well-placed pass into the net, but the goal was ruled offside and the whistle blew with the score at 2-1 for Jeonbuk.

This is only Jeonbuk's second win of the season. The defending champions won their first match 1–0 against Suwon FC in February, but have looked unbalanced since then, tying with Daegu and losing three matches on the trot to the Pohang Steelers, Ulsan Hyundai and Jeju United. On March 19, they were held to a 1-1 draw against Gimcheon Sangmu, extending their winless streak to five games.

Even though Jeonbuk succeeded in cutting that winless streak on Saturday, the victory was more thanks to Gangwon’s inability to convert rather than Jeonbuk’s form.

Throughout the match, Gangwon created more chances to score with 17 shots, six of them on target, to Jeonbuk's seven shots, four on target. Gangwon also had eight corners while Jeonbuk had two. Jeonbuk committed 22 fouls to Gangwon’s nine.

Jeonbuk is the most successful club in the history of the K League, having won their fifth consecutive trophy last season, becoming the first team ever in Korea's two most popular leagues — the K League and KBO — to win a title for five straight years.

On the other hand, Gangwon narrowly avoided relegation to the second tier last year after finishing second-to-last in the K League and facing Daejeon Hana Citizen in a promotion-relegation playoff.

After struggling throughout the season and on the verge of relegation, Gangwon sacked head coach Kim Byung-soo in November last year and brought in former national team striker and ex-head coach of FC Seoul, Choi Yong-soo.

Choi taking the helm seemed to be just what Gangwon needed, as in Choi’s first two matches, Gangwon tied with FC Seoul then beat Seongnam FC 2-1 to avoid dropping down to last place of the K League table. They also beat Daejeon in both legs of the promotion-relegation playoff to secure their spot in the top tier for the 2022 season.

Gangwon will be hoping for that Choi magic to continue into this season to land in the upper half of the table, as Gangwon currently sit in seventh place with two wins, two draws and three losses.

As for Jeonbuk, this is not their first time experiencing a bumpy few months. Last year they won the title after a turbulent season that saw the North Jeolla club start out strong with a 13-game undefeated streak but suddenly slip into a seven-game winless streak that saw them drop down to fourth place.

Jeonbuk managed to climb up to second in June and continued to slowly add on points. After exchanging the first and second position with Ulsan, Jeonbuk only reclaimed their lead in the standings with two weeks of K League action left.

Even though some turbulence was expected this season, Jeonbuk is looking at a much bigger climb than last season as they are now in eighth place. Whether the defending champions will be able to come back strong will be something to keep an eye out for in Tuesday's match against the Suwon Samsung Bluewings.

The K League continues on Tuesday with weekday fixtures that make up for the international break due to the World Cup qualifiers. On Tuesday, Jeonbuk face Suwon Samsung Bluewings while Jeju play Ulsan and Daegu FC take on Incheon United.

BY YUN SO-HYANG [yun.sohyang@joongang.co.kr]