Preview: Ansan Mugunghwa Vs Daejeon Citizen

Collectors item: skipper Kim Byung-Suk got himself on the score sheet against Anyang on Saturday. Credit: DCFC.co.kr

Ansan Mugunghwa							Daejeon Citizen
W	L	L	L	W			W	D	L	D	W
					Competition:	K-League Challenge
					Date:	Oct 2, 2016
					Game Week:	Round 37
					Kick-off:	19:30
					Venue:	Ansan Wa~ Stadium

Not Over Yet

With the business end of the season fast approaching games are coming thick and fast in the K League Challenge, no part to an October finish.

Up next for Daejeon Citizen is a trip to the Wa~ Stadium to take on first placed Ansan Mugungwha, a side who have allowed to let a 12 point lead whittle down to just four.

It could be argued that a downturn in motivation has lead to such a demise as, although Ansan are still leading the pack, in some sort of cruel irony Korea's Police could be the victims of an injustice of some sorts as.

Due to the team's relocation to Asan for the 2017 season, even a first placed finish would not ensure promotion to the K League Classic.

Thus, should Ansan finish the season in a similar vein of form that saw them build up a strong lead, any promotion, or indeed playoff place, would be allocated to another team; a second place finish, for instance, could be enough to secure automatic promotion, likewise the side who finishes in fifth could well have earned themselves a place in the playoffs.

As such, the season is not over yet for Citizen, who despite sitting in 6th place heading into Wednesday's game with Ansan, could still nick that last playoff spot.

Although, given the unique way in which the Korean Football Association is run, the aforementioned scenario could change.

Previous Meetings

The last time these two sides went head to head, Daejeon took no prisoners, punishing their Gyeonggi Province counterparts in a 5-0 thrashing.

The league's top scorer Kim Dong-Chan put Citizen ahead after just four minutes before Gustavo added a second eight minutes later.

Hwang In-Beom lashed home an audacious third with a 25-yard pile driver to make it three in 24 minutes before a Jin Dae-Sung header had the Purples four goals to the good with little over half an hour played.

Brazlian forward Gustavo added his second on 60 minutes to round up the scoring for Daejeon to send a humiliated and dejected Ansan side packing.

The previous month, however, when Daejeon last made the trip to the Wa~, it was the home side that picked up all three points.

A Daejeon side, depleted due to suspensions and injuries, battled hard in the summer rain and looked to be on course for a hard earned point only for a Lee Hyun-Seung strike on 89 minutes to break the hearts of the Daejeon faithful.

Han Ji-Ho had Ansan ahead after 21 minutes but Kim Dong-Chan pegged Ansan back at the start of the second half.

But, with legs tiring and concentrating waning, the Police got out of jail and netted a late winner to further extend Ansan's unbeaten run over Citizen, a run that had spanned five matches.

Overall, Daejeon and Ansan have met seven times with Ansan winning three compared to Daejeon's two victories and two draws.

Team News

Citizen are set to be without defender Woo-Hyun, who has recently had a spell in hospital complaining of body pain. 

Neither Daejeon nor Ansan will have players missing through suspension but Daejeon have a number of key players who, should they pick up another caution, would miss the next game 

Jean-Claude Bozga, Kim Dong-Chan, Yoo Seung-Hwan, Jang Joon-Young, and Oh-Chang-Hyun are all just one further yellow card away from a suspension.