Report: Cho Dong-jae's injury time screamer sends Seoul E-Land top

The Mokdong Revolution continues after Seoul E-Land followed up last week's beating of title joint-favorites Busan IPark by defeating Suwon Samsung Bluewings in injury time. Cho Dong-jae's volley in added-on time won a game that appeared to be going Suwon's way.

Seoul E-Land are top of K League 2 tonight after recording back-to-back victories over two of the league's strongest teams. In truth, they were somewhat fortunate to claim all three points after withstanding heavy second-half pressure from Suwon Samsung. 

But the goal that won the game was worthy of winning any match, and it sparked wild celebrations inside the ground. Something is brewing under the guidance of former Suwon FC boss Kim Do-kyun. Seoul E-Land could be the most exciting watch of the year.

For Suwon, back to the drawing board. They were terrible until falling behind in the 52nd minute. Yeom Ki-hun's changes made a difference but probably came too late. After equalizing with 10 minutes to play, Suwon should have gone on to win the game.

But they didn't and now they understand the harsh reality of their demotion. K League 2 teams will not be rolling out the red carpet for one of Korea's powerhouses. 

Team News

Seoul E-Land made four changes to the team that shocked the league by winning 3-0 at last season's runners-up, Busan IPark. Cho Dongjae, Lee Injae, Kim Young-wook, and Jang Seok-hoon got the chance to start the big home opener against the Bluewings.

Suwon Samsung manager Yeom Ki-hun kept faith with the same starting XI that battled past Chungnam Asan FC a week previously, except Jo Yoon-sung, who was suspended following a red on his debut. Park Daewon took Yoon's place at the back, having been involved in 31 games last season. Kim Ju-chan remained on the bench. There's still no sign of Maxwell Acosty and Kozuka Kazuki for the visitors.

First half

Despite the big win in Busan last week, the home team were happy to allow Suwon to dominate possession and territory. Chances in the first quarter were few and far between - the closest a long-range specialty from Fejsal Mulić that just didn't dip in time - but the highlight was the battle between Mulić and Osmar.

Osmar, a legend across the Han in Sangnam, joined Seoul E-Land in the winter, adding a huge amount of experience to the E-Land squad. His last appearance in the black and red of Seoul was, incidentally, in defeat to the Bluewings, where he was also sent off. The pre-match graphic showed Osmar in the centre of a three-man midfield but the Spaniard was tasked with marking Mulić, and he certainly prevailed in the early exchanges.

Approaching the 20th minute, Suwon's Park Sang-hyuk was stretched off after a collision on halfway. Kim Ju-chan replaced the number 8 and took up a position on the left of a front three, with Jeon Jun-woo slipping back to vacate the space left by Park.

The most exciting moment of the half came seven minutes from the break when a good old-fashioned scrap near the far touchline led to Peter Makrillos picking up a yellow for shoving Suwon's Lee Jong-sung. The fallout saw most of the 22 players get involved. Handbags? Makrillos admitted in the mixed zone afterward that Lee has a reputation but didn't elaborate further.

In first half added on time, Suwon's Jeon Jun-woo headed over from six yards, just moments before another potential flashpoint developed in front of the home dugout. Suwon's Jang Ho-ik clattered into Makrillos, who stayed down. Lee Jong-sung hadn't forgotten their earlier scuffle, accusing Makrillos of playacting. Osmar took exception to Lee's accusation, but the row, much like the game, fizzled out quickly.

Second half

Seoul E-Land made two changes at half time but Yeom Ki-hun resisted altering with his side. The result was Suwon started very slowly, content with slow build-up play and little urgency. Despite that, it was still a surprise that E-Land took the lead on 52 minutes. Much like Suwon, the home team had offered very little in attack but a goal-mouth scramble saw the ball drop perfectly for Bruno Silva, who smashed home from six yards.

The concession sparked some life into Suwon, who responded with a couple of half chances. After Mulić was hacked down on halfway, second-half substitute Jeong Jae-young was shown a yellow card. The visitors responded to the tackle by crowding around the aggressor, calling for a card. Responding to tackles was the only real fight in the away team to that point.

Watching Osmar dominating Mulić and Suwon was a thing of beauty in the second half. Osmar was flawless. The 35-year-old was first to every ball inside the box and never looked remotely close to breaking a sweat as he comfortably dealt with Suwon's admittedly blunt attack.

Manager Yeom began to ring the changes in the desperate search for an equalizer. Mulić was replaced by Kim Hyun on 74 minutes, having come off easily second best in his box office duel with Osmar. Kim Hyun, a winter recruit from Suwon FC, made his league debut for the visitors. His impact was almost immediate but Suwon were unable to covert their own goal-mouth scramble. The pressure was mounting but the deserved response came from absolutely nothing.

A hopeful ball into the box evaded everyone, including the near-perfect Osmar, to drop into Jeon Jun-woo's lap. The young forward did well to scoop his shot home first time with his left foot to send the away end, and dugout, into raptures. Seoul were hanging on but relief came from the game's third flashpoint. Defender Han Ho-gang was booked for trying to slap the ball goalwards from an offside position.

As the clock ticked down, the noise from behind the goals grew louder and Seoul struggled to stay afloat. It was corner after corner for the visitors.

But, as is often the case, the winning goal went to the team on the ropes. Within seconds of the referee waving away Suwon's vociferous penalty claims, Cho Dong-jae settled a fiery encounter with an outstanding left-footed volley from the edge of the box. Jo smacked it first time into the same corner Bruno opened the scoring, tearing off in wild jubilation. Scenes. 

And that was that. Suwon's first trip of the season ended in a loss. Defeat snatched from the jaws of a draw.

The fans

As expected, and something we'll undoubtedly see often throughout the season, Suwon fans traveled in massive numbers. An hour or so before kick-off, there were just three seats available behind the goal. They brought their collection of flags and rattled through their playlist from ninety minutes before the start.

But the day belongs to Seoul E-Land, their players, and fans. The noise that greeted the winning goal was frightening. They hung around for over an hour afterward to meet their new hero, Osmar. 

Osmar meets his adoring new fans after Sunday's victory against Suwon Samsung. 

Up next

Seoul E-Land are on the road next Saturday, making the shortest trip of their season to Bucheon FC 1995.

The Bluewings, meanwhile, also have a short away day to contend with. Their destination is Wa~ Stadium to face Ansan Greeners.

Best player: Osmar

Attendance: 9,123