Writer's Chat: Pohang Steelers vs Suwon Bluewings Preview

Here we have two once great teams vying for a spot back into the Classic next season. With only five matches left this season every point counts and every match will be a battle. Can Pohang return to winning ways with Choi Soon-ho back at the helm? Or will Suwon Bluewings look to spoil his return?

Scott Asks, Josh Answers

Scott Whitelock: Barring a remarkable run of results from the teams below them, Pohang likely only need a couple of win to prolong their stay in the Classic for another year. Where do you feel these final 2 wins can come from?

Josh Bulloch: So far this season Pohang has played it's best at home and that may give them a slight advantage over this weekend's match as well as versus Suwon City and Seongnam. Also with newly re-acquired manager Choi Sin-ho he'll try to get Pohang back to winning ways. I do believe Pohang can win all home matches but I think Incheon and Gwangju on the road will give them some trouble.

SW: After having only scored 4 goals in their previous 9 away trips, Pohang scored 4 goals away at Seongnam in their last game. What was the game changer that day?

JB: Well I think there were two game changing performances in that match. Moon Chang-jin the man of the match had an impressive showing it seems he's starting to really come into form. The other performance comes from a position where Pohang has really been lacking this season, goal-keeper Kim Jin-young had another outstanding performance making 8 out of 9 saves. Pohang all year have been leaking goals early and often in some matches and that really brings down a team so I'm sure other players took notice of his performance and in turn they stepped up their game and that's why Pohang was able to win by such an incredible margin.

SW: What are your predictions for this game? Where do you expect the game to be won and lost?

JB: I think we'll see a high scoring affair, with in form players Johnathan, Santos, Shim Dong-woon, and Yang Dong-hyun it's hard not to expect goals in this one. Whichever team owns mid-field will win this game. I'm not expecting a draw like we have seen previously in this fixture. I do like Pohang's chances at capturing victory they do have the edge by playing at home and the return of ex-player, ex-manager Choi Sin-ho I'm sure his first match back at the Steelyards he'll expect a win from his Steelers.

Prediction: 3-1 Pohang

Josh Asks, Scott Answers

Josh Bulloch: As back to back runner's up the last 2 years and now this year in the relegation group what do you think went wrong this season?

Scott Whitelock: Countless things have gone wrong this season, so I will try to keep this brief. Key players, particularly Yeom Ki-hun and Kwon Chang-hoon, have not performed to the standards expected of them. Add to that, the downward spiral of experienced players like Shin Se-gye, Lee Sang-ho, Baek Ji-hoon, Cho Won-hee and countless other 'senior' players and you have a ticking time bomb waiting to happen. Moreover, despite improving defensively throughout the season, Suwon have too often self-destructed in the final 15 minutes of games. Capitulation in the final stages of a game has undone so much good, hard work and has been a real confidence killer. Infact, Suwon have let more winning positions slip in the latter stages of a game than any other Kleague club. But, the major contributing factor to this depressing season has been the manager, Seo Jung-won. I have rarely seen a manager make bad decision, after bad decision, after bad decision and still be in a job. What he has managed to do to Suwon this season is a truly remarkable story. It takes a special kind of failure to take the 2nd best team in the country to the brink of relegation to the 2nd tier. And yet, there is still a chance the Seo Jung-won could still be in a job next year. If Suwon finish the season with a flourish, claiming the Korean FA Cup along the way, it isn't unthinkable to imagine that the walking disaster that is Seo Jung-won will still be the manager next year. If that is the case, it may be time for me to start supporting the local University team. 

JB: Suwon comes into this match with only 1 win, 7 draws, and 2 losses in the last 10.  Your team is able to score but they concede goals almost as much as they score what changes need to be made to stop teams from scoring?

SW: When Suwon play their first choice centre-backs I really cannot complain. They have defended extremely resolutely over the last 2 months and I commend them for that. The only thing that has let them down has been small mistakes, but it is hardly surprising that these mistakes have occurred because the team invites too much pressure from their opponents. The problem isn't with the quality of defending, it's to do with the quantity of defending that the back 4 are expected to do. The placid (and quite frankly dull) playing style that Seo Jung-won has the team operating in ensures that Suwon aim to contain teams, rather than take the game to them and attack, a trait that Suwon have been admired for, for years. If Suwon are to stop conceding (and this may sound stupid) then they need to attack more and give their defenders a well earned breather. 

JB: Which player is your MVP of the season and who could Suwon have done without this season? Why?

SW: There are only 3 players that have played well this season, and unfortunately for Suwon, 2 of those players haven't even played in half of the games. Santos, Johnathan and Hong-chul have all caught the eyes for differing reasons. Santos has been the only consistent mainstay of the season and is currently the top goalscorer with 11 goals. While he hasn't been consistently great this season, he is probably the only player that you can say hasn't been consistently bad. A constant thorn in the side of defences, he has significantly improved his finishing this season and without him Suwon could be sitting much further down the table than they currently are. After enduring a difficult first few weeks of his Suwon career, Johnathan has really sprung to life recently. He has now scored 5 goals in his last 4 games and remains the key weapon in an ailing Suwon attack. As I have mentioned before, he doesn't really offer a lot to the team unless he is played and utilised in central positions, but when a chance does fall his way he is lethal in front of goal. One of my major criticisms of Seo Jung-won has been his inability to get players operating around Johnathan. If he can find a way to do this, then I have no doubts that the Brazilian will fire Suwon to safety. 

Finally, despite only playing the last quarter of the season, after recovering from a serious injury, Hong-chul makes it on to the list. In such a short space of time the left-back has demonstrated to Suwon what they have been missing all season. Whilst he is a reliable defender, it is going forward where he makes all the difference. Calm on the ball and with a left-footed delivery unlike any other full-back in the league, Hong-chul is a unique talent in Korea. If Suwon do retain their Classic status then it is imperative that the management team tie him down to a new long-term contract. As for the worst, take your pick from the remaining players in the squad. They have all been as bad as each other in their own ways. 

JB: The last two matches in Pohang vs Suwon have ended in draws. Do you think Suwon will come into Saturday happy with a draw or will play to win?

SW: And again, I think this one has 'draw' written all over it. If you offered Seo Jung-won a point now he would probably snatch your hand off. Suwon will head to the Steel Yard and look to contain Pohang, and will be hoping that Pohang aren't as lethal as they were in Seongnam two weeks ago. I don't expect that the Suwon defense will be able to contain Pohang, but I also expect one of Suwon's Brazilians to snatch a goal on the break. 

Score prediction: 1-1