Incheon stunned in 6-1 loss to K League 2 club Gwangju

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Incheon stunned in 6-1 loss to K League 2 club Gwangju

Published: 28 Apr. 2022, 17:08 Updated: 28 Apr. 2022, 17:55

Oh Jae-hyuk of Bucheon FC 1995, center plays the ball against Kim Sang-won of Suwon FC at Bucheon Stadium in Bucheon, Gyeonggi on Wednesday. [KFA]

Two K League 2 clubs — Gwangju FC and Bucheon FC 1995 — beat top-tier teams to advance to the round of 16 at the FA Cup on Wednesday.

K League 2 club Gwangju beat Incheon 6-1 at Incheon Football Stadium on Wednesday, while K League 2 club Bucheon FC 1995 beat Suwon FC 1-0 at Bucheon Stadium in Bucheon, Gyeonggi. The two clubs will now face each other in the next round on May 25.

Gwangju's 6-1 win over Incheon was certainly not expected, as Incheon sits in second place on the K League table, two wins behind top-place Ulsan Hyundai.

Gwangju opened the scoring just two minutes into the match, with Kim Jin-young adding goal No. 1. Gwangju added four more in the first half while Incheon was forced on the back foot. In the 80th minute, Hong Si-hoo of Incheon got the K League 1 club's first goal, but Mike dos Santos of Gwangju quickly added one more eight minutes later.

Last season, Gwangju was relegated from the top tier to the K League 2 after finishing at the bottom of the standings with 10 wins, seven draws and 21 losses, six points behind second-to-last Gangwon FC. Gimcheon Sangmu, who topped the K League 2 standings last season, took Gwangju's place in the top tier this season.

The 6-1 loss is a shock for Incheon, who are in the middle of a successful K League season, with five wins, three draws and one loss to take second place on the standings. Compared to their No. 8 finish last season, this season has been much more successful so far.

"It will be important that the defeat not affect Incheon's performance in the K League," said Incheon head coach Cho Sung-hwan after the match on Wednesday.

Over in Bucheon, the K League 2 club's 1-0 win over Suwon will carry them to their first FA Cup round of 16 in five years.

This year, seven out of the 16 clubs that are advancing to the round of 16 of the FA Cup are from the second or third tier. The four K League 2 clubs advancing to the next round are Gyeongnam FC, Bucheon, Gwangju and the reigning champion Jeonnam Dragons.

The three K League 3 clubs are Busan Transportation Corporation FC, Ulsan Citizen FC and Daejeon Korail FC.

Nine K League 1 clubs will join them there: Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, Suwon Samsung Bluewings, Gangwon FC, Daegu FC, Pohang Steelers, Seongnam FC, Ulsan Hyundai, FC Seoul and Jeju United.

The FA Cup is not part of the K league season, but is a knockout competition hosted by the KFA with the winner earning a ticket to the AFC Champions League next year. The Suwon Samsung Bluewings have the most FA Cup trophies, at five.

The Jeonnam Dragons are the defending champions and have the second-most titles, having won in 1997, 2006, 2007 and last year.

Despite that history, last year was the first time that a second-division club has won since the promotion system was implemented in the K League in 2013. With the win, Jeonnam earned a spot in the AFC Champions League. Jeonnam is currently in third place of Group G, two points behind Melbourne City.

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