K League 1 Round 30: Three Takeaways

The title race has tightened atop the first division with Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors claiming an important victory to close the gap on Ulsan Hyundai following the weekend's results.  FC Seoul are off the bottom thanks to a 2-1 win over Suwon FC.

A Missed Opportunity for Ulsan Hyundai

Ulsan Hyundai could have cemented their title chances away to Daegu FC but ultimately fell short against the Sky Blues, dropping 2-1 at the final whistle.  The Horangi carried the brunt of the play in the early stages, going ahead in the 14th minute thanks to a pinpoint strike from Valeri Qazaishvili that found the bottom corner.

Cesinha would have an opportunity to level the score just before the halftime break, only to be denied by Jo Hyun-woo who got down well to parry the Brazilian's effort aside.  The home side would pick up where they left off just over ten minutes into the second half, as Edgar found an equalizer in the 56th minute.  He nodded home Cesinha's cross to level the match and it was a sign of things to come.

Daegu's top man would put his side in front just past the hour mark with a fine finish into the bottom corner following a compact move down the left and it would be enough in the end for the hosts to solidify their hold on third place in the table for at least one more week.

Jeonbuk Close the Gap

Paik Seung-ho's penalty was enough to earn Jeonbuk three points.

Jeonbuk claimed an important win but could have gone behind early on if not for a critical stop from Song Bum-keun, who was alert to deny Kim Min-woo from close range following some shoddy defending.  Lee Ki-je had the best chance to put the visitors ahead four minutes before the half with a guided strike from just outside the area, only to be denied by the Jeonbuk 'keeper once again.

The home side would find their grace less than five minutes into the second half as Paik Seung-ho stepped up to convert from the spot with a neat finish after Moon Seon-min was fouled inside the penalty area.  Song Min-kyu could have doubled the advantage just past the hour mark after Stanislav Iljutcenko played him in on goal but Yang Hyung-mo was there to deny him.

Both teams would have their chances in the latter part of the second half but the defending champions would hold on in the end for all three points, setting up a grand finish to the rest of the campaign.

FC Seoul Out of the Basement

FC Seoul have a bit of breathing space following their weekend victory.

Languishing for much of the year, FC Seoul picked up a much-needed three points with a 2-1 victory against Suwon FC on Sunday afternoon.  A pair of goals from Cho Young-wook and Na Sang-ho inside the first ten minutes of the match were enough for the six-time league champions to unroot themselves from the bottom of the table.

Suwon FC have been a bit of a revelation this season, currently sitting fourth in the table and did get a consolation marker courtesy of Murilo in second half injury time but it wasn't enough in the end as An Ik-soo was able to mark his newly appointed managerial tenure with a win.

Both squads next play on Wednesday, with Suwon FC hosting Seongnam in the afternoon and FC Seoul at home to Incheon United in the latest installment of the Gyeongin Derby in the evening.