FA Cup Preview: Daejeon Hana Citizen vs Ansan Greeners

Daejeon Hana Citizen face fellow K League 2 side Ansan Greeners this Wednesday night in Round 3 of the KEB Hana Bank FA Cup. The Purples have already beaten the Green Wolves once this season and know that another victory of their Gyeonggi Province counterparts will be enough to earn a glamour tie against K League 1 giants FC Seoul in Round 4.

Overview

Fixture: Daejeon Hana Citizen vs Ansan Greeners, KEB Hana FA Cup Round 3
Date: Wednesday 1st July 2020, 19:00
Venue: Daejeon World Cup Stadium
Form: Daejeon: WDWLWD Ansan: LLWLWD

Last Time Out

Daejeon Hana Citizen 3-3 FC Anyang

Despite being 2-0 up after 54 minutes, Daejeon had to settle for just a point at home to FC Anyang on Saturday evening. A back-stick Park Jin-seop header from a Koo Bon-sang free kick had the Purples 1-0 up on 39 minutes before Andre Luis and Bruno Baio combined to make it 2-0 less then 10 minutes in to the second half.

But, Anyang began to mount a comeback when Maxwell Acosty narrowed the deficit just five minutes later. Played in by Nilson Jr., the Ghanaian nudged the ball past Lee Seul-chan before chipping Purples goalkeeper Kim Jin-young. A Violets equaliser came on 75 minutes, Acosty with his second via a looping header from a corner which perhaps ought to have been dealt with by Daejeon goalkeeper Kim Jin-young.

The game was turned completely on its head just two minutes later with an identical goal; a corner from the right was met by the head of Brazilian forward Maurides who found the back of the net - goalkeeper Kim Jin-young culpable once again. However, Daejeon managed to salvage a draw two minutes from time, defender-turned-emergency centre forward Lee Jung-moon at the back post after Park Yong-ji's close-range effort was saved. Daejeon drop to second but level on points with Suwon FC, Anyang remain second-bottom.

Highlights



Ansan Greeners 1-1 Chungnam Asan 

The Greeners picked up a point at home to the league's basement side Chungnam Asan at the weekend. Ansan found a 10th minute lead via an emphatic, close-range Choi Geon-joo effort. Former Daejeon midfielder Kim Dae-yeol played the ball into Felipe's feet on the penalty spot. The Brazilian striker was then able to guide the ball into Choi who took a touch before firing into the roof of the net.

The visitors, though, were level on 35 through Armin Mujakic's second goal of the season. The Austrian showed great determination to advance into the box before squeezing the ball past an advancing Ansan goalkeeper Lee Hee-seong. Initially, it looked as though the goal was going to be chalked off but after a quick VAR review, the goal stood. Ansan sit in seventh, Chungnam remain 10th and two points behind Anyang.

Highlights

Previous Meetings

There have been 13 previous meetings between Daejeon Hana Citizen and Ansan Greeners. The first ever was back on the opening day of the 2017 campaign when a 2-1 Greeners win got the then newly founded club up and running in their first ever match. The two sides have met in the league already this term with Daejeon coming out on top in a narrow 1-0 win, Andre Luis with the game's only goal from the spot.

From the 13 previous encounters, both teams have four wins each with the five remaining matches ending as stalemates. At Purple Arena, Daejeon have beaten Ansan on just two occasions, both by a single goal-to-nil. The first came in the Purples playoff season, Ko Myeong-seok with a header at a rain-soddened Purple Arena in the summer of 2018.

FA Cup Record

Daejeon make it to the third round following a 3-0 home win over K3 side Chuncheon FC with goals from Park Yong-ji, Andre Luis and Kim Seung-seop. The Greeners, meanwhile, secured a place in the next round with a 3-0 win over their own, displacing K4 side Siheung Citizen at the Wa~ Stadium with goals from Kim Dae-yeol, Ismael George Balea and Bruno.

Daejeon lifted the FA Cup in 2001 after a 1-0 win over Pohang Steelers in the final with Kim Eun-jung firing in the winner in the 53rd minute at Seoul World Cup Stadium. The following season, the Purples reached the semi-finals but lost to Suwon Samsung Bluewings. Daejeon made it to the semis in 2004 but it then took them five years to repeat such a feat after getting knocked out by eventual winners Seongnam in 2009. Citizen made it to the quarter finals in 2012 but since then have gone no further than the Round of 16 and fell at the first hurdle in both 2018 and 2019. In their short history, Ansan Greeners made it to the Round of 32 in 2018 before bowing out to Asan Mugunghwa. In 2019 and 2017 Ansan were knocked out in the third round. The 3-0 win over Siheung was only the Greeners' sit FA Cup victory. A glamour tie away to FC Seoul awaits the winners of Wednesday's clash.

Team News

Daejeon could be without vice captain Lee Woong-hee after the centre back came off injured during the 3-3 draw with Anyang. Lee twisted his ankle just before half time and while the injury didn't appear to be serious, the former FC Seoul defender may be rested for the midweek visit of Ansan. Connor Chapman came on at half time and slotted in at centre back, the former Socceroo youth captain is likely to make his first start for the club with a hip injury now behind him. Versatile forward Park Yong-ji will be hoping his cameo against Anyang was enough to force his way back into Hwang Sun-hong's first XI. Tbe former Incheon man has featured nine times in all competitions for Daejeon this season, scoring two goals.

Meanwhile, goalkeeper Kim Keun-bae may be handed his debut after joining from Seongnam on loan. Daejeon gaffer Hwang Sun-hong will not have been impressed with Kim Jin-young's overall performance against Anyang with the former Pohang custodian culpable for two of Anyang's three goals on Saturday and so Kim Keun-bae could start as an audition of sorts for the upcoming league fixtures.

[READ: What K League Means To Me: Connor Chapman Interview]

Ansan Greeners will be without the services of Ismael Jorge Balea as the Spanish midfielder has joined K3 side Gimpo Citizen. Green Wolves manager Kim Gil-sik should have a relatively full squad to choose from for the trip to Daejeon on Wednesday. The match could be an opportunity for the likes of Soony Saad, Shin Jae-won, Kim Kyung-joon, and Lee Ji-hoon, who have yet been able to nail down a regular place in the team, to impress. Meanwhile, central midfielder Song Jin-kyu has joined on a permanent deal from Suwon Samsung Bluewings and could make his Greeners bow.

The Adversary

Choi Geon-joo in action for Ansan vs Chungnam Asan.

Ansan Greeners sit eighth in the K League 2 table after two wins, a draw and five defeats. However, the Greeners make the trip to Purple Arena on Wednesday unbeaten in their last two after picking up four points from a possible six. Ansan have been set up in a 4-4-2 (34%), 4-2-3-1 (24%), and 5-4-1 (25%) so far this season. For the previous meeting this term, the Greeners took to the field at Purple Arena in a 4-2-3-1 with Felipe Augusto as the loan striker, backed up by Shin Jae-won, Kim Kyung-joon, and Soony Saad. However, on that occasion, Ansan couldn't manage a single shot on target from 11 attempts and had over 60% possession.

Ansan have the lowest xG in K League 2 with just 5.47 goals projected from the first eight matches. The Greeners have attempted the second-most one-on-one dribbles in K League 2 with 210 but, with a 44.3% success rate, are the worst in the division in that regard. However, where Ansan excel is the number of long balls made with 431, the second-most in K League 2, with balls played into the final third with 487, as well as progressive passes (a forward pass that is 30 metres or more) with 612. Ansan will be expected to be direct with Felipe Augusta tasked with being the targetman and bringing others into play, similar to how Choi Geon-joo scored against Chungnam Asan at the weekend.

 

What To Watch

Connor Chapman during his Daejeon debut at home to FC Anyang.

Connor Chapman made his Daejeon Hana Citizen debut on Saturday night, coming on as a half time substitute in place of the injured Lee Woong-hee. The former Incheon and Pohang man was brought to Daejeon as a No. 6, a screening midfielder and so is more than likely to play in that role eventually. However, with Koo Bon-sand and Park Jin-seop in good form, and with the Purples' defensive frailties, Chapman may keep his place in the backline. His return will be a huge boost to the rest of the squad and should help to tighten a defence that has shipped 12 goals, the third-most in K League 2. Elsewhere, expect Bruno Baio and Andre Luis to feature and show more of their combination play that put the Purples 2-0 up against Anyang at the weekend.

Prediction

Daejeon Hana Citizen manager Hwang Sun-hong said following the win over Chuncheon in the previous round that he wants to face his old club FC Seoul. With that in mind, it is clear that the Purples will be treating Wednesday's match like any other and the two-time K League title winner will be fielding a strong team. Daejeon's leaky defence suggests that Ansan could find the net but the Purples should have enough for a home win.