Two teams ranked 8th and 9th and with a performance that did not meet expectations will meet in the 16th round of Hana Bank’s K League 1 2024.퀸알바
□ Match of Round: ‘Two teams in need of a rebound’ Seoul vs Gwangju
In the 16th round, Seoul (8th place, 17 points) and Gwangju (9th place, 16 points) will face off.
The home team, Seoul, had a 0-0 draw against Gimcheon in the last 15 rounds. Seoul has no victory with two draws and one loss in its last three games, and it needs the performance of foreign striker duo Ilytsenko and Lingard to rebound.
Ilyushchenko has seven goals and two assists to rank second in the offensive point category in the league this season, and has scored consecutive goals in the matches against Daegu in the 13th round and Pohang in the 14th round, displaying good sense of goal lately. If Ilyushchenko scores in this round, he can change the frustrating trend of Seoul’s offense.
Lingard is the striker who has been collaborating with Ilyushchenko in recent matches. Lingard returned from injury and started three consecutive matches since the match against Daegu in the 13th round, showing light movements. Although Lingard has yet to score an offensive point, he has raised expectations with his solid performance. Now, Lingard has one more task to do with his K-League debut goal, which is worth looking forward to seeing in the upcoming match against Gwangju.
[Photo] Courtesy of the Korea Professional Football Federation
Gwangju, the away team, failed to accumulate a point as it lost 0-1 against Pohang in the last 15 rounds. Gwangju has also been sluggish in recent three consecutive games with no wins (one draw and two losses), but it is aiming for victory with young players at the upcoming match against Seoul.
This season, Jung Ho-yeon played in all games and made three assists, leading Gwangju’s attack development by ranking first (72 times) in forward passes in attack zones, sixth (16 times) in key passes, and seventh (843 times) in passes among all K-League 1 players. Um Ji-sung has one goal and two assists this season, and in the previous match against Pohang, he ranked first in shooting attempts (4 times) and second in passing in attack zones (23 times), constantly creating opportunities for offense.
If Jung Ho-yeon and Um Ji-sung from Gwangju Youth play well in this round as well, Gwangju can break the winless ring and raise its ranking. In particular, Gwangju should revive pleasant memories in this round as it won 2-0 against Seoul in the opening game of this season.
The second showdown of the season between Seoul and Gwangju will be held at 7 p.m. on June 2 (Sun) at the Seoul World Cup Stadium.
[Photo] Courtesy of the Korea Professional Football Federation
Jeju (6th, 20 points) won its second consecutive game of the season with a 1-0 victory over Daejeon in the last 15 rounds. Han Jong-moo, who scored the winning goal on the day, led Jeju to victory by scoring a goal in the league for the first time in about two years since July 2022.
In this season, Jeju has been tying for third in the number of goals lost (18 goals) among the 12 teams in the K League 1. In recent consecutive games, Jeju had no points lost, and goalkeeper Kim Dong-joon displayed a full-score performance by blocking five shots on target in each of the two games.
In addition, central defender Song Joo-hoon, who is playing in all games this season, showed that he did not allow his opponent’s strikers to leave gaps, ranking second (76 times) in the air ball contest, sixth (20 times) in the ground contest, and seventh (23 times) in the interception among all K League 1 players.
Jeju, on the other hand, is at the bottom (14 points) in the team’s scoring division, and the offense’s performance is desperately needed to rebound. Jeju’s Yu-ri Jonathan (3 goals), who has recorded the most goals in the team, has not been able to play due to injury, and Jin Sung-wook was sent off in the last match against Daejeon. Jeju can look to a higher ranking only when the toes of strikers such as Hayes and Thales, who have yet to score their first goals of the season, including Seo Jin-soo, who has only one goal this season, burst.
Meanwhile, Jeju will meet Gangwon in the next round. The team has been on a three-game winning streak, beating Ulsan, Daegu and Jeonbuk in the recent three games. The two teams tied 1-1 in the opening match of this season, and their second showdown will take place at Jeju World Cup Stadium on June 2 at 4:30 p.m.
Suwon FC (5th, 24 points) added three more points with a 2-0 victory over Daegu in the last round. Suwon FC has been at the top of the standings with its stable defense compared to last season, and at the center of it is Kwon Kyung-won, a new central defender who joined the team in Suwon FC uniforms this season.
Kwon Kyung-won, a former member of Jeonbuk Youth, made his debut in the K-League in the 2013 season. Since then, he has played for Sangju Sangmu and Seongnam in the K-League, and gained experience by playing in various overseas leagues including Al Ahli, Tianjin, Gamba Osaka.
Kwon Kyung-won is a defender with a wide field of view and strong physicality, and has a strong reading and cutting ability. As evidenced by this, he has shown outstanding linkage skills by ranking first in the K League 1 forward pass successful (372 times), second in the middle-distance pass successful (474 times), and second in the pass successful (921 times). In addition, he was also faithful to his original role in defense, ranking third in clearances (85 times) and sixth in interceptions in the central region (12 times).
Based on his performance at Suwon FC, Kwon Kyung-won joined the national team for the second Asian qualifying round for the North and Central America World Cup in March and is also included in the list in June.
Meanwhile, Suwon FC will meet Incheon in this round, where Suwon FC won the first showdown with the Incheon FC 1-0. Suwon FC will also seek a win in this match without allowing any points due to veteran Kwon Kyung-won’s performance. The second showdown of the season between the two teams will take place at Suwon Stadium on June 1 (Saturday) at 7 p.m.