Suwon spoil Gwangju housewarming

Suwon Samsung Bluewings took all three points from Gwangju Football Stadium thanks to Park Sang Hyeok's 49th-minute strike from outside the box. Park Jin-seop's side looked devoid of ideas as their grand opening failed to live up to expectations, seeing Rustam Ashurmatov sent off late on. (Gwangju FC 0-1 Suwon Samsung Bluewings)

What Happened?

Returning from suspension against Busan IPark last weekend, Willyan started brightly breaking down the left at will and testing Yang Hyeong-mo. After initial early pressure, Suwon took advantage of some lax Gwangju defending with Sulejman Krpic enjoying far too much space around the edge of the box. The Yellows were nearly caught short at a corner when Yeo Reum switched off but Lee Sang-min fired over. With the match threatening to bore, Lee Soon-min took matters into his own hands with the left back taking a pot shot from range but it was well saved by Yang. Krpic again found space on the brink of half time but his 20-yard drive was comfortably saved by Lee Jin-hyung.

Gwangju keeper Lee did not enjoy such luck at the start of the second half as Park Sang-hyeok struck from 20 yards to give Suwon the lead. The 22-year-old's first goal for the club, he also takes the acclaim of scoring the first goal at this stadium. This sparked Gwangju into life with Felipe denied a penalty before Han Hee-hoon flashed a header wide. Gwangju simply didn't have the ideas to break down Suwon's defence and several of their key men suffered a frustrating evening. None more so than Rustam Ashurmatov who saw red with just seconds remaining for his foul on Kim Tae-hwan who was running through on goal.

Bluewings team spirit

In Ju Seung-jin's second match at the helm, Suwon looked much more organised than in their disappointing defeat at home to Seongnam last time out. Coping well with the notable threat of Felipe thanks to Doneil Henry's strength and persistence, the Suwon back four with Kim Min-woo operating as an attacking left back didn't allow Gwangju any clear cut openings. Han Seok-hee was brought back into the fold for just the third time this season and enjoyed himself all evening, making one particularly impressive turn into the box that stumped the whole Gwangju back line.

While fans were unable to attend, Gwangju FC started a fresh era for the club in their new home

Gwangju's lack of creativity

The Yellows didn't look like cutting open the Suwon defence with any incisive passing and most of their chances came from set pieces. Unfortunately, Gwangju missed the quality deliveries of left-back Lee Eu-ddeum who sat out through injury, working out in the gym at the stadium an hour prior to the game. Tonight was a big opportunity for Lim Min-hyeok given a start in a roaming playmaker role in the middle of the park. Impressing in the FA Cup victory over Gimpo Citizen and in cameo appearances off the bench in recent league games, Lim did not take full advantage and struggled to show his undoubted quality. Felipe cut an incredibly frustrated figure up front, mainly aiming his anguish in the referee's direction, unable to get the ball at his feet to bring the wingers into play. Han Hee-hoon, who performed the defensive midfielder role admirably at times at previous club Daegu, perhaps is a more defensively-minded option than Choi Jun-hyeok for example. While one below bar performance by no means writes Lim Min-hyeok off as a starting option, Gwangju surely need to dip into the transfer market for another creative central midfielder.

Season defining games to come

Gwangju travel to Incheon United next Saturday knowing that defeat could really give basement  boys Incheon a real sniff of another survival push. Victory up north next weekend would extend the gap to 10 points and start to reach an insurmountable figure and afford the Yellows the chance to not look over their shoulder quite so intently. The question of strength in depth in the Gwangju squad needs to be discussed with Park Jin-seop forced to trust 20-year-old Jeong Hyeon-woo as his final attacking change to try and impact the game. It does make their starting line-up, shape and tactics somewhat predictable. After Incheon, Gwangju face Pohang and Gangwon, both of whom they comfortably lost to in recent weeks, so a win next time out could be vital.