Preview: Gyeongnam travel north to face table-toppers Gimcheon Sangmu
An in-form Gimcheon Sangmu plays host to an inconsistent Gyeongnam FC this Sunday evening. The army outfit are in the midst of a remarkable run of form, only suffering defeat once in their last fifteen matches. Gyeongnam in contrast picked up a morale-boosting victory last weekend against a good FC Anyang outfit. The visitors will know it'll need every player to play to their full potential if they are to get anything from the clash. The hosts will be looking to kick on at the summit of K League 2 and secure three points to further establish themselves as promotion favorites. K League United's Gyeongnam FC columnist James Edrupt previews this one.
Match Details
Match: Gimcheon Sangmu vs Gyeongnam FCVenue: Gimcheon Stadium. Gimcheon.
Kickoff: Sunday, August 8th, 2021; 20:00 (KST)
Recent Form
Gimcheon just keep on winning
The fixture against Bucheon FC 1995 was all but over half-time. Both the Gimcheon goals came in the space of two minutes in the first half and they never looked like giving up their lead throughout the ninety minutes.
The first goal of the game came on twenty-two minutes through a Park Dong-jin bullet header as he crept into space in between the visitors' central defenders. The hosts doubled their advantage just two minutes later through a glaring goalkeeping error by Choi Cheol-won. Goalscorer Park Dong-jin pressured the keeper into rushing a clearance. Park intercepted Choi's pass and squared the ball to the onrushing Seo Jin-su who from ten yards passed the ball into the net with ease to put the game out of sight after only twenty-four minutes.
Gyeongnam rang the changes and it worked
Seol Ki-hyeon's team put in a much-improved performance than of late in a good 2-1 home victory over promotion hopefuls FC Anyang.
Gyeongnam raced out of the blocks and looked good early on testing the visitors' defense and goalkeeper. The hosts deservedly got their noses in front through experienced winger turned center forward Hwang Il-soo who timed his run perfectly into the six-yard-box. He slid the ball home following a delightful cross from fellow winger Baek Sung-dong. The Violets are made of sterner stuff this season and they got back into the game just seven minutes later through attacking midfielder Mo Jae-hyeon. A lovely precise finish across 21-year-old debutant goalkeeper Kim Min-jun into the far corner. Like in the first half early stages, Gyerongnam started the second half brightly and regained the one-goal advantage just seven minutes after the break. Hwang Il-soo again was on the score sheet to complete a brace tapping in at the far post after a Jang Hyeok-jin shot was going wide. FC Anyang pushed for a leveler bringing on influential players like Moya and Nilson but to no avail. Gyeongnam held on to stay in touch with the playoff contenders in front of them.
Team News
Park Dong-jin will be looking to score again at home. |
Gyreongnam FC goes into the clash rocked by the news that key midfielder Hwang Il-soo will probably be out for the remainder of the season after injuring his PCL (Posterior cruciate ligament} last time out against FC Anyang. Key defensive duo Lee Kwang-seon and Kim Myeong-jun are major doubts, the latter has a 50/50 chance of making being fit. Center back Bae Seung-jin filled in admirably last time out and will be hoping to start this Sunday. Lim Min-hyeok looks to have established himself as a first-team regular after impressing of late. The former Gwangju player made a rare start last weekend and looked impressive on the right side of midfield. With Hwang's unfortunate injury new signing Yu Kang-hyun or Yun Ju-tae will look to make an impression up top if selected. Key operator Hernades is back on Korean shores but he remains in quarantine so he will miss this one. Fellow countryman Willyan will be looking to impose himself in the match and continue his fantastic form of late.
Key talisman Hwang Il-soo will be out for the remainder of the 2021 campaign |
Who to Watch
Kim Min-jun
21-year-old shot-stopper Kim Min-jun had a debut to remember last Saturday against FC Anyang. Kim signed from J3 side Fukushima United in the off-season was an unknown quantity coming into the squad. He impressed manager Seol Ki-hyeon in pre-season but had to wait his time to make a start. With both senior keepers Hwang Sung-min and Son Jung-hyun certainly not setting the world alight, Seol made the bold selection of picking Kim last weekend. He performed very well and made some key saves and looked very assured coming for crosses. He will be kept busy on Sunday against a free-scoring Gimcheon outfit. He will have to bring his "A-game" once again if the Reds' are to get anything from this tough encounter.
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