Home > Sports > Football

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors keep K League 1 dream alive

Published: 02 Dec. 2024, 13:18 Updated: 02 Dec. 2024, 17:23

PAIK JI-HWAN
[email protected]

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors celebrate during a K League 1 promotion-relegation playoff against Seoul E-Land at Mokdong Sports Complex in western Seoul on Sunday. [YONHAP]

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors kept their hopes for survival in the K League 1 alive with a 2-1 win over Seoul E-Land in the first leg of the K League promotion-relegation playoffs at Mokdong Sports Complex in western Seoul on Sunday.

Seoul E-Land’s Osmar Ibanez leveled in the 48th minute after Tiago Orobo opened the scoring in the 37th minute, but Jeon Jin-woo headed in the winner in the 83rd minute to seal the win.

Jeonbuk headed to the playoff following their worst finish in the K League 1 this season, coming in 10th place on the 12-team table for the first time.

Relegation to the K League 2 would mark the fall of the trophy-rich club that won the K League 1 the most times at nine. It would also be the second time in a row the K League 1 would see an elite club facing relegation after five-time K League 1 champions Suwon Samsung Bluewings fell last year.

The second leg on Sunday, Dec. 8 will decide the fate of Jeonbuk. For Seoul E-Land, winning the next match would send them through to the K League 1 for the first time.

Earning promotion to the top flight would also give the club a chance to introduce themselves to a bigger audience and emerge from FC Seoul’s shadow, setting up a K League 1 capital derby for the first time.

Only one spot in the K League 1 is remaining, with K League 1 side Daegu FC having secured their place in the first division after a 6-5 win on aggregate against Chungnam Asan FC.

In the K League 1, the last-place team faces direct relegation to the second division, while the 10th and 11th-placed teams enter the promotion-relegation playoffs against two K League 2 clubs to decide which teams secure berths in the top tier next season.

Incheon United, who finished at the bottom of the K League 1 table, will play in the second division next season, while K League 2 winners FC Anyang will compete in the top tier for the first time next year.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [[email protected]]