Preview: Gyeongnam FC vs Suwon Bluewings

Suwon finally bounced back to winning ways last weekend courtesy of an Adam Taggart hatrick. They are on the road once more this weekend when they travel to Changwon to take on Gyeongnam FC. With Gyeongnam in the middle of a relegation battle this won't be an easy fixture and a repeat of the 3-3 that these two played out earlier this season might just be the perfect start to the weekend for fans of the K League. 

Last Time Out

Gangwon FC 1-3 Suwon Bluewings
Suwon took all three points from a game they probably didn't deserve to win so emphatically thanks to an Adam Taggart masterclass. After a cagey start to the game the Bluewings took the lead in the 12th minute when the Australian was left alone in the area to convert a Kim Jong-woo corner with his head. Both teams struggled for fluency in the first half and the score remained 1-0 until at the half.

Gangwon came out stronger in the second half and Suwon's second goal of the game came against the run of play. A long throw from the right hand side bounced to the edge of the box and Taggart turned, swiveled and fired a right-foot half volley into the corner of the net. It was very similar to the spectacular volley he scored against Incheon earlier this season.

Gangwon got a goal back moments later though. An epic scramble in the box left Suwon unable to clear and the ball ping-ponged it’s way to Han Kook-young who smashed into roof of the net. Gangwon then laid siege on the Suwon goal for the remaining 30 minutes. They managed to get in behind the suwon defence on several occasions but a combination of poor decision making and last-ditch Suwon defending thwarted them.

Suwon sealed the game in the final minute of injury time. Taggart sent Jeon Se-jin free down the left side and the winger rounded the goalkeeper, and cut the ball back to Taggart for his hatrick.

Daegu FC 1-0 Gyeongnam FC
Gyeongnam missed an opportunity to put daylight between themselves, Incheon United and Jeju FC last weekend losing at Daegu.

Daegu got off to a flying start scoring after 2 minutes. A Cesinha corner from the left was played short to Kim Dae-won who fed the ball back to Cesinha. A fine step over in the box saw the Brazilian find his way to the byline and strike an inch perfect cross for Jeong Tae-wook to head in.

Daegu should have had another in injury time at the end of first half but spurned their chance to take a 2-0 lead into half time. An Edgar run and square ball to Cesinha  saw the latter through one on one with the keeper but Cesinha uncharacteristically skied his shot high into the stands.

The 2nd half was very even with no clear opportunities for either team but Gyeongnam almost stole a point in the last minute of the game. A cross-shot from Kunimoto looked destined to fly into the top corner but Daegu goalkeeper Jo Hyeon-woo was on hand to tip the ball over.

Previous Meetings

These two have met twice this season with neither able to grab a win. The first meeting, back in late April, was a thrilling 3-3 draw with Bae Ki-jong scoring an injury time equaliser for Gyeongnam. The most recent game though wasn't quite as thrilling, a 0-0 draw back in late June.

These two have only met 34 times in total and have very similar records, Suwon winning 13 of those games to Gyeongnam's 9 victories. Gyeongnam have struggled over recent meetings though and have only won one of the last 12 meetings.

Team News

Jo Sung-jin and Jeon Se-jin made their long awaited returns last weekend and both performed well. Jo played the best part of 75 minutes in what was an impressive backs to the wall rearguard performance, whilst Jeon came on for a neat second half cameo providing the assist for Adam Taggart's final goal. If reports are to believed, Yeom Ki-hun is nearing a return to full training following a muscle injury and once he has returned Lee Lim-saeng will finally have some strength in depth in his squad.

Lee will be without the services of his goalkeeper in this game though after No Dong-geun picked up his 3rd yellow card of the season in the 90th minute against Gangwon. He will now serve a one match ban which will offer an opportunity to Kim Da-sol. Kim had started the season as the number one following his arrival from Suwon FC over the winter but he has found first team opportunities hard to come by this year.

[LISTEN: KLU Pod | K League 1 Round 26 Recap and Marquee Match Preview]

The Adversary

It's not been a happy year for Gyeongnam and they have struggled with the loss of key players from their 2018 team all season. It couldn't have been easy for Kim Jong-boo to rebuild the side that performed so well last year but even he will be surprised by how far the performances of his team have dropped this season.

With 46 goals conceded and only two clean sheets to their name all year it's easy to see why they remain level on points with Incheon United and only one point away from the bottom of the table. The arrival of Uroš Đerić over the summer had many people thinking that it was only a matter of time before the Reds were able to pull themselves away from the relegation dogfight but they have so far struggled to use the towering striker effectively.

Prediction

Playing away from home definitely seems to suit Suwon more than playing at home and they were lethal on the counter attack last time out in Gangwon. But there is an over reliance on Adam Taggart and if the Australian doesn't have his shooting boots on then Gyeongnam might see this as the perfect opportunity to pick up a vital three points.