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Daegu keeps dim survival hopes alive in K League 1 relegation battle with dramatic win over Suwon

Published: 03 Nov. 2025, 13:12 Updated: 03 Nov. 2025, 16:52

Daegu FC’s Edgar celebrates after scoring a goal during a K League 1 match against Suwon FC at Suwon Stadium in Gyeonggi on Nov. 2. [YONHAP]

Bottom-placed Daegu FC kept their faint hopes of staying in K League 1 alive with a dramatic late equalizer against Suwon FC, while Gwangju FC sealed top-flight survival with a win over Jeju SK.

Daegu drew 1-1 with Suwon FC at Suwon Stadium in the Gyeonggi capital in Round 35 of the K League 1 Final B phase on Sunday. Trailing 1-0 deep into stoppage time, Daegu found a lifeline in the eighth minute of added time when Cesinha’s corner found Edgar, who headed home to complete a remarkable comeback.

The result gave Daegu a precious point and lifted their record to six wins, 11 draws and 18 losses for a total of 39 points. They remain bottom of the table but narrowed the gap with 11th-place Jeju, who have nine wins, eight draws and 18 losses, totaling 35 points. Jeju fell 2-0 to Gwangju on the same day. With three games left for each team, the fight to avoid finishing last remains unresolved.

Daegu’s afternoon looked bleak after Suwon striker Pablo Sabbag opened the scoring in the 54th minute, heading in a cross from Kim Kyeong-min for his 17th goal of the season and maintaining his lead in the golden boot race.

Daegu then suffered another blow when defender Caio Marcelo was sent off in the 86th minute for denying a clear goal-scoring opportunity. But even with 10 men, Daegu refused to give up and capitalized on a late corner to snatch a draw at the death.

Suwon FC’s Pablo Sabbag celebrates after scoring a goal during a K League 1 match against Daegu FC at Suwon Stadium in Gyeonggi on Nov. 2. [YONHAP]

Suwon could have climbed to ninth place with a win, which would have tied them on points with Ulsan HD and moved them ahead on goals scored. Instead, the late collapse left them two points behind. Ulsan sit ninth with 10 wins, 11 draws and 14 losses, giving them 41 points. Suwon are 10th with 10 wins, nine draws and 16 losses, also on 39 points.

In Gwangju, Shin Chang-moo opened the scoring in the 78th minute, and Icelandic forward Holmbert Fridjonsson added his first K League goal in the 90th minute to seal a 2-0 victory. The win, Gwangju’s second in a row, moved them to seventh with 13 wins, nine draws and 13 losses, totaling 48 points, and secured their place in K League 1 for next season.

Under the current promotion and relegation rules, the team that finishes last in K League 1 will be relegated and replaced by Incheon United, who have already clinched the K League 2 title. The 11th-place K League 1 club will face Suwon Samsung, the K League 2 runner-up, in a promotion-relegation playoff. The 10th-place K League 1 side will meet the winner of the K League 2 playoff between the teams finishing third to fifth to determine which club stays in the top division next season.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY LEE HAY-JUNE [[email protected]]