FA Cup Preview: Suwon FC vs Chungju Citizen
This week’s international break will see no K League 2 teams receive respite from the hustle and bustle. The FA Cup campaign for the second division teams will begin this Wednesday as they aim to progress to the next round without upset with Suwon FC advance past K3 League Advance side Chungju Citizen on their home soil. While the newly promoted K3 team may seem like the underdog in this match-up however, it is not surprising to see shocks happen in this competition. Suwon FC columnist Lee Youngsub previews the match.
Last Time Out
Suwon FC enjoyed a much-needed victory in their Round 3 match of K League 2. It was a ‘must-win’ match for both teams (Suwon FC & Ansan Greeners) as both sides were winless for their first two games. Manager Kim Dae-eui’s 4-2-3-1 formation saw Henri Anier as the center forward backed by the other three midfielders Chisom Egbuchulam, Baek Sung-dong and Lee Hak-min. The formation transformed to 5-3-2 during defensive situations with Chisom and Anier being relieved from their defensive responsibilities when the opponent had the ball in their own half. It was notable placements to see Lee Hak-min being placed at the right wing while Cho Yu-min took up Lee’s usual position, right full back. It seemed like Kim Dae-eui’s tactical choices to provide a better defending system. Nevertheless, the Greeners’ attack was fiery and they even hit the goal post at the start of the first half. However, the Greeners failed to get ahead even with numerous chances and this led to Jang Jun-young’s goal in the ninth minute. In the second half of the game, Suwon made tactical substitutions to place full back, Kim Dae-ho and center back, Lee Yong and move up Cho Yu-min as the central midfielder. These tactical substitutions were proved to be right as the center back, Lee Yong scored in the 56th minute to all but guarantee their first win of the season.Ansan Greeners managed to close the scoreline with a stunning header from Jang Hyuk-jin at the 77th minute. However, the determined Suwon FC’s defence line combined with Ansan’s disappointing mistakes saw out the game to see Suwon FC crowned as the victors.
Highlights here.
Chungju suffered an excruciating defeat in their first game of the K3 League campaign. Having been promoted to the K3 League Advance thanks to their extraordinary performance last season, the Citizen may have realized the standard that is demanded by the league may prove quite high.
Team News
Manager Kim Dae-eui’s favorite central defensive midfielder choice, Lee Jong-won was substituted out in the previous game against Ansan Greeners. Although it is likely that Suwon FC will rest their usual eleven for this match, the veteran midfielder may not be one of manager Kim’s options when needed.The Adversary
Chungju Citizen will have to brush off their painful defeat in their debut match in the K3 League Advance. It would be a huge challenge for the Chungju side to rise against the odds at their third round of the FA Cup campaign, as they will only have three days to rest before the game. Suwon manager Kim Dae-eui’s players with plenty of rest from the international break, doubled up with their rising performance may show no mercy to the away side.Who to Watch
Suwon FC – An Byong-junWednesday’s fixture against Chungju Citizen may see a mixture of the usual eleven with the rest of the players who were not given enough time to play. Thus, the North Korean import is first to be called for. The speedy forward who can help on all sides of the attacking line has made more than 100 appearances and scored 20 goals in his stint at the J-league. It would be a perfect opportunity for the 28-year-old to prove himself as the first team player in this coming fixture. As Manager Kim laments from the disappointing performance by the attackers chosen in the previous games, An may prove the better attacking option to the manager.
Chungju Citizen – Nam Ha-neul
Chung-chun FC (Youth FC Hungry Eleven), the TV show that heartened many local football fans in 2015, saw many of their featured players being given chances to play football worldwide after the program ended its sixteen episode run. One of the players from CCFC is Nam. Just like what his name means in Korean (Ha-neul means sky), the 24-year-old’s value was skyrocketing on his hunt to join the professional football club after the program ended. He was the only one from CCFC to play in a professional football team in Korea. Showing the decisiveness in the penalty box, Nam brought eleven goals in his bag among sixteen games that he had played. Being the main reason for Chungju to be promoted in their first season at the K3 League, Nam will have to take Wednesday’s match-up as the best opportunity to prove what he is capable of. The possibility for the Citizen to upset the home team may lie on the striker’s foot.
Prediction
It seems like it would be a huge challenge for Chungju to upset the home side this Wednesday’s match. Kim Dae-eui’s players had more rest than Chungju who had just played their first league game on Saturday. Kim will be able to form a mixture of the usual eleven with the unused players in the previous games as his starting line-up. Chungju will have to hope for miracles for them to move on to the 4th round of the FA Cup.Prediction score: Suwon FC 3-0 Chungju Citizen
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