K League 2 clubs take upper hand as relegation playoffs begin

Football

Published: 27 Oct. 2022, 15:15

K League 2 clubs take upper hand as relegation playoffs begin

The Suwon Samsung Bluewings' Yang Sang-min, right, and FC Anyang's Hong Chang-beom vie for the ball during the first leg of the K League promotion-relegation playoffs held at Anyang Sports Complex in Anyang, Gyeonggi on Wednesday. [NEWS1]

It was a disappointing first leg of the relegation playoffs for the top tier clubs on Wednesday, with K League 2 club Daejeon Hana Citizen FC coming from behind to beat Gimcheon Sangmu 2-1 and the Suwon Samsung Bluewings held to a goalless draw by second-tier FC Anyang.

With the regular K League season now finished, four clubs are currently vying for a seat in the top tier next year. K League 1 clubs Gimcheon Sangmu FC and Suwon Samsung Bluewings are trying to keep their spots, while K League 2 challengers Daejeon Hana Citizen FC and FC Anyang are looking for a shot at promotion.

Daejeon is now one step closer to promotion.

The match between Daejeon and Gimcheon at at Daejeon World Cup Stadium in Daejeon was a fierce one from the start, with the referee being forced to pull out a yellow card just two minutes into the game.

After 21 minutes, it was Gimcheon to open the scoring with a set-piece. Gimcheon’s Lee Young-jae took to the corner and Moon Ji-hwan found the ball, heading it in to beat the Daejeon goalkeeper.

Daejeon, desperate to hold the visitors down at home, was able to pay that favor back with a set piece of their own in the 35th minute. Lee Jin-hyeon took to the corner and curved the ball, landing it right in front of the goal and Cho Yu-min, who was waiting in front of the goal line, slotted the ball into the net.

With both clubs hammering at each other’s net until the very last minute, the first half finished at 1-1.

Daejeon broke through in the 73rd minute, when a blunder from the Gimcheon goalkeeper led to a loose ball right in front of the net. Joo Se-jong saw the chance, running in to kick the ball to take the score to 2-1.

After 15 shots, five on target, and 24 fouls, Daejeon was the club to emerge victorious in the first leg of the playoff. Gimcheon had eight shots and five shots on target.

For Gimcheon this is a disappointing loss considering that Gimcheon had not dropped a single match against Daejeon in the 2021 season when they played in the second tier. They won three while being held to a 1-1 draw once at home.

On the other side of the bracket, the Bluewings were held to a 0-0 draw by Anyang at Anyang Sports Complex in Anyang, Gyeonggi.

Unlike the FA Cup, the K League playoffs does not use the away goals advantage rule, so while this draw at home would have given Anyang the upper hand in the FA Cup, the K League promotion-relegation playoffs will need to go to extra time if they are tied on aggregate after both legs.

History is actually in favor of the underdogs in the promotion-relegation playoffs. Since 2013, five clubs have been promoted to the K League 1 while only three top tier clubs have managed to keep their seats.

The second leg of the playoffs will be hosted by Suwon and Gimcheon this Saturday, with Suwon facing Anyang at 2 p.m. and Gimcheon facing Daejeon at 4 p.m.

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