Pain in the Rain for Daegu FC

By: Brett | May 20th, 2009

Byun Byoung-joo was motionless. Stunned. His gaze fixed on his own goal; on the ball nestled snuggly in the back of the net; on his own goalkeeper, Baek Min-cheol, beating and kicking the turf in frustration. A minute ago his team has just taken the lead, for the second time, and now, for the second time, they’d been pegged back. In the background, Kwak Kwang-seon was dropping to his knees at the corner flag, gripping his hands together, thanking the Lord. With good reason too – he’d just saved his team’s bacon.

Two minutes before added time, it was 1-1 between Gangwon FC and Daegu FC at the Gangneung Stadium, and had been so for the better part of half an hour. A Masahiro Ohasi strike for the hosts on 62 minutes having cancelled out Kim Min-gyoon’s opener three minutes after half time.

A minute before added time, with the rain tumbling and the crowd ready to head home for a warm shower and some instant noodles, the visitors struck through Serbian striker Lazar Popovic. His first goal of the season couldn’t have come at a better moment. It looked as if what had been an entertaining affair between two of the lesser lights of the K-League, was going to go the way of the visitors. It looked as if their four match winless streak was about to be shattered.

Only, it wasn’t.

A minute into added time, the home side, known as ‘The Power of Gangwon’, after their home province on Korea’s East Coast, pushed forward yet again, no longer searching for a winner, but an equaliser. A loose ball in the penalty area wasn’t properly dealt with by the defense, which allowed Kwak Kwang-seon, to nip in and drive it home to send the home fans into wild celebrations, the visiting keeper into convulsions and the visiting coach into shock.

The 2-2 result meant that the new kids on the K-League block are still yet to suffer defeat at home, whilst for Daegu it meant they will have to wait another week for a shot at securing their second win of the season. Problem is, their next opponents are second placed Gwangju Sangmu.

Round 10 in the K-League saw things tighten up at the top. Incheon United FC took full advantage of a Gwangju draw and Jeonbuk Hyundai loss, moving level with them at the summit on 20 points. Ilija Petkovic’s side have quietly gone about their business this year, and have been particularly impressive since dumping Australian defender Jade North from the starting line-up.

Their 1-0 win over an inconsistent Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma outfit at the Incheon World Cup Stadium on Sunday, courtesy of a 72nd minute winner from Macedonian Dragan Cadikovski, was one of four in the round, with FC Seoul, Jeju United FC and Chunnam Dragons also winning by the same margin.

But the shock of the round, perhaps of the season to date, was in Busan where the locals tore apart league leaders Jeonbuk Hyundai. The dominant 3-1 victory at the Asiad Main Stadium could have easily been 5-1 or 6-1, if it wasn’t for some wastefulness in front of goal from the red and whites’ strikers.

“It was a game we deserved to win,” said Busan coach Hwang Sun-hong after the game. “We followed our game plan and that is why we were able to get a good result. The players showed passion on the pitch and it was a good day for us.” It sure was. After a slow start to the season, his team is now sitting pretty in sixth spot.

Results: Gangwon FC 2-2 Daegu FC, Gwangju Sangmu 0-0 Gyeongnam FC, FC Seoul 1-0 Pohang Steelers, Incheon United FC 1-0 Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma, Busan I’Park 3-1 Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, Jeju United 1-0 Daejeon Citizens, Chunnam Dragons 1-0 Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i, Bye – Suwon Samsung.

Top 5: 1. Jeonbuk Hyundai (20), 2. Gwangju Sangmu (20), 3. Incheon United FC (20), 4. FC Seoul (17), 5. Chunnam Dragons (16)