Preview: FC Anyang vs Bucheon 1995

FC Anyang play their first of five final opponents in the form of Bucheon 1995 and it could possibly prove one of their most important if they want to secure a playoff spot early. Can Anyang finally beat Bucheon this season?

Last Time Out

Anyang 2 - 2 Busan I'Park

On a rainy midweek night in Anyang, two of the best teams in the K League 2 faced off. With the rain came a very slick and wet pitch, which created numerous problems for both teams in the first half, with most attacks having to be from set-pieces due to the weather. Luckily, Anyang have a wonderful free kick taker in Chae Gwang-hoon, who late in the first half curved his freekick over the wall for 1-0.

The weather continued to have an effect on the game as, just before the half time whistle, a shot from Alex was mishandled by the Busan goalkeeper and Palacios was on hand to place the ball into the net for a commanding 2-0 lead for Anyang heading into the second half. Busan piled on the pressure in the second half, with chance after chance falling Busan's way. Yang Dong-won did very well in the Anyang net, but couldn't keep Busan out forever.

After a dazzling run by Busan the ball was crossed in and deflected up off of Kim Sang-won. Lee Dong-jun then pounced to put Busan back into contention. Anyang had thought they had won with five minutes to go as Alex went one on one with the Busan goalkeeper, but his effort was steered jsut wide of the post. Just two minutes later and those celebrations had turned into tears as Diego Mauricio scored a well-finessed shot into the bottom corner. From two nil up, Anyang had conceded the lead. With the game all square, both teams played cautiously ended in a disappointing draw for Anyang fans.

Bucheon 1995 1 - 3 Daejeon Citizens

The rain was also a factor in this game, as it didn't take long for the goals to flow. In the seventh minute, a corner was drifted into the box and with the confusion and slipperiness of the box, Kim Ryun-do was brought down for Bucheon. Up stepped Nilson who perfectly converted the penalty. The first half saw many tackles and misplaced passes, with the weather yet again affecting real clear cut chances.

It wasn't until the last minute of ordinary time that yet another penalty was given.This time Park Min-gyu for Daejeon was brought down whilst shooting, after a small VAR review Matheus Pato also scored his penalty of the night. With the last kick of the first half and Daejeon had made the miracle comeback when a drilled in ball from the left-wing found the head of Ramazotti who somehow created enough power on the header to beat the five defenders. Immediately after that goal the half time whistle was blew.

The K League 2 is the host to a lot of wonderful goalkeepers and this time Park Jae-woo impressed with a point-blank save to deny the hosts their equalizer fifteen minutes into the second half. The second half was a cagey affair, but it was finally confirmed who would win, after Matheus Pato scored again, this time with a powerful on the turn shot from outside the box. Daejeon Citizens had made the marvelous comeback, which took them four points off the bottom of the league.

Previous Meetings

The last time these two teams met was a tight 2-2 draw at the Anyang stadium on the 28th of July, the game was very tense and featured a lot of contentious moments. Highlighted by the fact that two penalties were scored, one for Anyang and one for Bucheon. Cult hero of Anyang, Kim Won-min popped up in injury time to get the final goal to make the comeback draw for the hosts.

In the three meetings this year, Bucheon have outscored Anyang by scoring five goals compared to Anyang's four. They're also the only team in the league that Anyang have failed to beat this year. This is a worrying statistic as with only five games left, the home team will be very eager to break that record.

Team News

Anyang will have played three games in the space of seven days with the fixture list being as compact as it has been. This has taken a toll on some of the players with clear signs in the second half verses Busan, of cramp and general fatigue in the starting eleven. Luckily Anyang's recruitment over the summer with loans should be able to patch up the injury concerns for the final five games. Again, expect Mo Jae-hyeon to start or at least see 45 minutes of play in this game, with his form and the managers attempts to preserve attacking talent.

The Adversary

Bucheon 1995 have had a horrible time as of late, they've only won one out of their last five games and lost three. The most concerning thing from a Bucheon perspective is their slide down the table now, with them now sitting 8th in the league, a far cry from their hopes of cracking the playoff spots less than two months ago.

The issue for Bucheon is their constant conceding, they have statistically the second-worst defence in the league with 47 goals conceded in 31 games. Only keeping a clean sheet three times so far this season. They're more than capable of scoring goals, but their defensive fragility is causing them issues. With this season possibly over, Bucheon should look to build upon their attacking talent and focus recruitment on rebuilding their defence.

What To Watch

This game is near guaranteed to be entertaining. With the second division nearly over it's important for any fan to get to witness a derby match, especially, one that has history of goals and controversy.  With the last two fixtures these teams met they both ended 2-2, with spectacular goals, last minute goals, red cards and even penalties.

Anyang will be playing knowing that their fate is in their hands, but Bucheon will be no easy opponent with boasting one of the best away records in the league, scoring 23 goals and winning twice as many away games as they have home games. Expect to see some exciting, attacking football on offer at the Anyang stadium.

Prediction

Anyang will be eager to secure a win, especially with having only two home games left to play. Attack will be the main focus for both teams but hopefully Anyang have enough to get themselves over the line in this exciting derby. 

FC Anyang 3 - 1 Bucheon 1995