Busan smash four past sorry Daejeon

Busan IPark brushed aside Daejeon Hana Citizen with a clinical four-goal display in the K League 2 on Monday evening. Busan centre back Hwang Jun-ho capped an impressive display with two bullet headers to put the game beyond a below-par Daejeon side that looked all at sea for much of the evening.

Match Overview

Busan IPark 4-1 Daejeon Hana Citizen

Busan: Kim Jin-kyu (21'), Hwang Jun-ho (30', 33'), An Byong Jun (75')

Daejeon: Jung Hee-woong (52')

K League 2, Round 11

Monday 10 May, 2021

Gudeok Stadium, Busan

Highlights

Peres finds the chinks in Daejeon’s armour

Busan coach Ricardo Peres got his gameplan spot on for the visit of Daejeon, switching back to a 4-3-3 to nullify the threat of Daejeon’s midfielders and find space aplenty down the wings. Full backs Choi Jun and Park Min-gyu combined excellently with wingers Domagoj Drozdek and Lee Sang-heon to exploit the open spaces either side of the Daejeon back three. 

Busan’s first goal came after Choi Jun found space down the right to arrow a stunning ball into the path of Kim Jin-kyu, who scored his first of the season with aplomb. Centre back Hwang Jun-ho then made a mockery of Daejeon’s set-piece defending to power home two headers in the space of three minutes, with both set-pieces resulting from more Busan raids down the flanks. 

The Royals continued to look dangerous in the second half, and after Jung Hee-woong pulled one back for Daejeon, An Byong-jun finally put the game to bed with a thunderous drive in the 75th minute. Busan scored four, but they could have had more on a very productive evening at Gudeok Stadium.

[READ: "If we work hard we can win promotion" - Edinho Interview]

Blunt Daejeon pay for first half lethargy

While Peres can be praised for his approach to the game, the same cannot be said for Daejeon coach Lee Min-sung. Faced with a powerful but slow Busan centre back pairing of Park Ho-young and Hwang Jun-ho, Lee played right into Busan’s hands by playing goalless Bruno Baio as a lone centre forward. 

Busan’s defence has looked vulnerable to speed all season, but wingers Matheus Pato and Shin Sang-eun rarely threatened the back line, with Baio often outmuscled or outjumped and unable to bring his teammates into play. Park and Hwang ultimately dealt admirably with the big Brazilian, and the young duo’s lack of pace went untested throughout. 

Although a second-half improvement was inevitable, Jung Hee-woong’s volley was too little too late for Daejeon. They might feel aggrieved not to have won a penalty when the match was poised at 3-1, Lee Rae-jun’s possible handball going unpunished after a lengthy VAR check, but in truth Daejeon didn’t deserve anything from their trip south.

Faith in Busan youth starting to pay dividends

23 year-old Hwang Jun-ho has been given a fresh start at Busan under Peres

Ricardo Peres stated from the outset of his appointment that he would attempt to promote and develop youth in Busan, and he has stuck by his word. Against Daejeon, his oldest starter was Park Min-gyu at 25 years old. And while there have been hiccups for Peres’ young charges in the opening weeks of the season, they are starting to show real signs of progress. 

Park Ho-young and Hwang Jun-ho looked to have no future at the club after barely featuring last season, but both were imperious at the back on Monday. Winger Lee Sang-heon and midfielder Lee Ji-seung are both growing in confidence by the game, while goalkeeper Ahn Joon-soo has put a rocky start behind him to become an assured presence in goal. With Choi Jun and Park Jeong-in already thriving since their moves from Ulsan Hyundai, Busan now have a host of promising youngsters to call upon. 

At a time where many K League clubs substitute their young players off after twenty-five minutes, or even after two minutes in some remarkable cases, Ricardo Peres should be lauded for genuinely giving his youngsters chances to become key members of his team.

Busan Player Ratings

GK – Ahn Joon-soo – 7 

RB – Choi Jun – 8 

CB – Park Ho-young – 8 

CB – HWANG JUN-HO – 9 

LB – Park Min-gyu – 8 

CM – Lee Rae-jun – 7 (Kim Dong-woo, 75’ – 6) 

CM – Lee Ji-seung – 7 

RW – Lee Sang-heon – 7 (An Byong-jun, 63’ – 8) 

CAM – Kim Jin-kyu – 8 

LW – Domagoj Drozdek – 8 

CF – Park Jeong-in – 7 (Sung Ho-young, 82’ – 6)

Daejeon Hana Citizen lineup: Kim Dong-jun; Kim Min-deok, Park Jin-seop, Lee Ho-in; Lee Jong-hyeon, Lee Hyeon-sik (Ikromjon Alibaev, 65’), Lee Jin-hyun, Kim Seong-ho (Park In-hyeok, 77’); Shin Sang-eun (Jung Hee-woong, 36’), Bruno Baio, Matheus Pato.