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| photo courtesy of the Korea Professional Football Association |
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| photo courtesy of the Korea Professional Football Association |
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| photo courtesy of the Korea Professional Football Association |
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Jeonbuk Hyundai, ahead of the promotion playoff (PO) where the remaining fate is at stake, drew with Gwangju in the final round of the regular league, losing the last face.
Jeonbuk led with Thiago's first goal at the 29th minute of the second half in the final away game of the 38th round against Gwangju at 2 p.m. on the 24th at Gwangju Football Stadium In the 2nd minute of extra time in the second half, Shin Chang-moo was allowed to tie the game with a penalty kick, drawing 1-1.
Jeonbuk, which erased the possibility of staying in the direct through the last round, added one point to score 10 wins, 12 draws, 16 losses, 42 points, beating 11th-ranked Daegu (40 points), which lost 1-3 to Incheon at the same time, to confirm its 10th place.
This is the lowest ranking since Jeonbuk ranked 11th in 2008, before the introduction of the split round. Jeonbuk has not fallen below third place since the 2009 season, but has won eight times, becoming the most winning team.
Jeonbuk, which has rebounded from the last atmosphere of the season, will play the K League 2 playoff winner between E-Land (3rd in the regular league) and Jeonnam (4th) at Mokdong Stadium at 4:30 p.m. and play the promotion PO on Dec. 1 and 8 at home and away.
Gwangju scored 47 points, giving up 8th place to Daejeon (48 points), which beat Jeju at home on the same day, and unfortunately finished the season in 9th place.
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| photo courtesy of the Korea Professional Football Association |
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| photo courtesy of the Korea Professional Football Association |
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| photo courtesy of the Korea Professional Football Association |
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Head coach Kim Doo-hyun of the away team Jeonbuk pulled out the same lineup as the Daegu match (3-1 win) in the 37th round for continuity and consistency of the squad. The playoff opponent changes depending on the final ranking of the regular league, but he emphasized that he would pursue victory by choosing 'The Airborne Law' rather than choosing the opponent team.
Tall striker Park Jae-yong took the lead in offense with one-top, and Moon Sun-min, Lee Young-jae and Andriigo were deployed to the second line of offense. Kim Jin-gyu and Han Kook-young took over the midfield, and Kim Tae-hwan, Park Jin-seop, Yeon Je-woon, Kim Tae-hyun set up a four-back. Kim Jun-hong wore goalkeeper gloves. Lee Seung-woo, Kwon Chang-hoon, Hong Jung-ho, Ahn Hyun-beom, and Thiago were on standby from the bench.
As for striker Song Min-gyu, who was not on the away list on the day, coach Kim said, `I am in good physical condition and participating in training normally"He explained that he was removed from the list for technical reasons, not physical conditions."
Gwangju, which has already confirmed its stay, has also joined the best lineup. Lee Kun-hee took the top and formed the second term with Choi Kyung-rok, Moon Min-seo and Ahn Hyuk-joo. Jung Ho-yeon and Park Tae-joon are in charge of the midfield, and Doo Hyun-seok, Byun Jun-su, Ahn Young-kyu, Kim Jin-ho, and Kim Kyung-min built the defense. Right back Doo Hyun-suk, who suffered a long-term injury, returned to the ground for the first time in about 100 days since the match against Ulsan on July 10.
Gwangju coach Lee Jung-hyo said, "I planned to play the final home match mainly with players who have not had a chance, but after training, I did not make much change to the list because I judged that it did not fit the team." Asani and Becca explained that they were out of the entry due to injury.
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| photo courtesy of the Korea Professional Football Association |
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The game was hot from the beginning of the first half. In the third minute of the first half, Gwangju Moon Min-seo's header hit the post and heated the stadium. The two teams exchanged 'no guard slugfest' with bold and aggressive attacks. 9 min This time, Jeonbuk took the ball away with active pressure near the opponent's box. Kim Jin-kyu's shot, which received the pass and faced a one-on-one situation with the goalkeeper in an instant, slightly missed the post. In the 14th minute, Gwangju Ahn Hyuk-joo's shot slightly off the post, and in the Jeonbuk away supporter's seat, "Wake up, Jeonbuk!" rang out.
In the 17th minute of the first half, Jeonbuk blocked the ball from the other side again. Kim Jin-kyu once again tried to be greedy, but he headed straight to the goalkeeper. In the 18th minute, Park Jae-yong connected Kim Tae-hwan's right cross with a powerful header in front of the gate, but he hit the crossbar. In the 26th minute, the ball hit by the leg of a Jeonbuk player near the half-line quickly flowed to the Jeonbuk camp. Lee Kun-hee caught the ball and ran quickly toward the gate. As soon as a one-on-one confrontation with Kim Joon-hong, who ran out after emptying the goalpost, Lee Kun-hee attempted a right-footed shot aimed at the lower right of the goal from a rather far point outside the box. When the ball slightly deflected the net, Lee Kun-hee was deeply disappointed. In the 29th and 45th minutes, the shots of Han Kook-young and Park Jae-yong ended in a 0-0 draw.
The coaches of both teams made a change of players at half-time. Gwangju excluded Lee Kun-hee, Ahn Hyuk-joo and Moon Min-seo, and put in Heo Yul, Lee Hee-kyun and Shin Chang-moo. Jeonbuk put in Kwon Chang-hoon of Thiago instead of Park Jae-yong and Andrigo.
The pattern of the second half was somewhat different from that of the first half. There were more frequent war of nerves and physical fights than the slugfest in which they exchanged shots with each other. Around 12 minutes into the first half, the game was temporarily suspended as Gwangju coaches strongly protested the decision. In the 13th minute of Gwangju free kick, Byun Jun-su's header slightly rose above the net. In the 14th minute, coach Kim took the lead in the first goal by putting in Lee Seung-woo without Kim Jin-kyu.
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| photo courtesy of the Korea Professional Football Association |
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| photo courtesy of the Korea Professional Football Association |
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| photo courtesy of the Korea Professional Football Association |
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As time went by, Jeonbuk's strong forward pressure increased. Gwangju's offense, which releases the ball through the central midfielder, lost its power. In the 16th and 17th minutes, Lee Young-jae tried his own left-footed mid-range shots in succession, but all of them went off the post. In the 24th minute, Shin Chang-moo responded with a sharp left-footed shot following a reckless breakthrough.
In the 29th minute of the second half, the long-awaited first goal was scored. Kwon Chang-hoon blocked Ahn Young-kyu's forward pass near the center of the opponent's penalty area. Thiago, who caught the ball unexpectedly, hit a right-footed curl shot aimed at the bottom right of the goal. Thiago scored his seventh goal of the season in about four months since the match against Ulsan (2-0 win) on July 20. After losing a point, Gwangju replaced Ha Seung-woon without Choi Kyung-rok.
In the 45th minute of the second half, which seemed to lean toward Jeonbuk's victory, it became noisy in front of the Jeonbuk goal. Gwangju got a penalty for Kwon Chang-hoon's foul. In the second minute of extra time, Shin Chang-moo took the kicker himself and shook the net. The match ended in a 1-1 draw.
yoonjinman@sportschosun.com
