White Hot Pohang Steelers Keep Pressure on the Leaders

I watched Pohang Steelers knock off reigning champions Suwon Samsung 3-2 in round 1. I wasn’t at the Big Bird Stadium in Suwon. I wasn’t at a sports bar watching it on a big screen plasma. I wasn’t even at home watching it on MBCESPN. No, I was at my local corner store. I wandered up to the checkout just in time to see Pohang’s Brazilian striker, Denilson – no, not the one who Real Betis paid a world record fee for, the one who now can’t get a game in the A-League and couldn’t even cut it in the Vietnamese League – put them 3-1 up with five minutes to go.

The victory didn’t come as that much of a surprise at the time. Pohang have always been a competitive team. More competitive than most. They finished fifth last season and also took home the FA Cup. They won the league in 2007. They’ve done that four times. They’ve come second another four times. Two FA Cups as well. And there’s the little matter of the back to back Asian Champions League titles in 1997 and 98.

The surprise came over the next nine weeks. Seven draws and two losses left them in the wrong half of the table and looking a little lost in tenth spot. Sergio Farias was at a loss to explain his teams bizarre league form, putting it down to the Asian Champions League campaign they were simultaneously involved in. Things weren’t that bad after all – it wasn’t as if his team was losing matches, they just weren’t winning them. He knew a win or two was all his team needed to get their season back on track. It was no time to panic.

And then it happened. 114 days after their first win, Pohang got their second. Kim Tae-Su scored the second goal in both wins, but this time against Chunnam Dragons, it proved to be the winner.

The club from Gyeongsangbuk-do in Korea’s south east hasn’t lost since then. Or drawn. Their winning streak of five straight in the league, including a 4-1 battering of Incheon United in round 12, is the best of anyone this season and sees them now sitting pretty in fourth. Their record is seven straight when you thrown in their two Asian Champions League victories – one an incredible 6-0 domination of Australia’s Newcastle Jets.

Nor does any other team have fewer losses than them. Their total of seven draws is only bettered by Gyeongnam FC, who have eight. The problem for Gyeongnam is, when they’re not drawing matches, they’re losing them. Second from bottom, an area they’ve hovered around all season, they welcomed the K-League’s form team to town in round 16, hopeful of a third win.

They didn’t get it. Macedonian forward Stevica Ristic put Pohang ahead in the very first minute – I haven’t been able to confirm it was the fastest goal of the season, but it must be close – before Yoo Chang-Hun sealed the victory with a second in the very last.

Next round, the hottest team in the K-League meets the coldest. Daegu FC haven’t won for almost two months, and were given a football lesson by Jeonbuk Hyundai on Saturday. Lee Dong-gook got his thirteenth and fourteenth of the season in the 3-0 win. On the surface, this one looks like a no-brainer, but who knows. One team due for a win, the other due for a loss. The universe does have this way of evening things out. It could be an interesting night at the Steelyard on Saturday.

Week 16 Happennings

Dejan Damjanovic got his second double in two weeks in FC Seoul’s 3-1 win over a Gangwon FC side who have been average since this blog sung it’s praises a few weeks ago.

The win was also Lee Chung-Young’s last match for the club from the capital. His 2.1 million pound move to EPL side Bolton Wanderers is all but completed. He’s in England at this moment ironing out the final details.

Lee Chun-Soo has left the K-League for Saudi Arabia. He’ll no doubt be back soon.

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

Top 5: 1. FC Seoul (33), 2. Jeonbuk Hyundai (31), 3. Gwangju Sangmu (29), 4. Pohang Steelers (25), 5. Incheon United FC (23).

Category: 1

Tags: 1, Dejan Damjanovic, K-League, Lee Chun-soo, Lee Chung-Young, Pohang Steelers

« FC Seoul Pistol Whip Incheon United: Go Top At The Halfway Mark | Home | Pivotal Weekend Overshadowed by Ji »

Subscribe   The Offside RSS Feeds

Print

Share