An Early Battle For the Playoffs: Seoul E-Land Vs Chungbuk Cheongju FC

Last weekend saw Seoul E-Land move back into winning ways in the 2024 K League 2. The Leopards did so in an impressive fashion, putting five goals past Chungnam Asan in Leoul Park. The win was the first in the league in six games and a much-needed confidence boost for the side.

Attention now turns to Chungbuk Cheongju who sits only two points above Seoul E-Land in 4th place. A win for the Leopards in this round of the league could see them climb further up the promotion ladder and sit comfortably in that 4th spot that Chungbuk once claimed. Michael Redmond takes a look at the game ahead.

Match Details

Match: Seoul E-Land Vs Chungbuk Cheongju
Date: Monday, 6th May 2024
Time: 2:30PM Seoul, 12:30PM Bangkok, 6:30AM Manchester
Venue: Leoul Park (Mokdong Stadium), Seoul, Korea
Link: K League TV

A Five Star Performance

It was almost getting to the point where questions could have been asked about this Seoul E-Land side. Seoul failed to win their previous five league meetings, they also took Daejeon Korail to penalties in the previous round of the Korean Cup, and looked flat in the Seoul Derby, ending in them being dumped out of said competition. Seoul fans were getting ready for the same old story they seem to find themselves in every year.

However on Saturday afternoon Chungnam Asan, a side which has caused Seoul a lot of problems came rolling into town, and the Leopards decided to switch it back into a higher gear than we saw in the previous month. The boss Kim Do-kyun's encouraging words pregame must have resonated in the minds of the starting 11 as it only took Seoul two minutes to go a goal up. Some excellent control from Byeon Gyung-jun put the side ahead.

 

It was little more than half an hour later when Seoul doubled their lead and it was Bruno Costa again with the goal. The Brazilian is in fine form and has been the bright star for the side. It only took two minutes after Bruno's goal for Ikoba to join in on the action. It is now two goals in two games for the American forward and some may believe that this is the start of the floodgates being opened for his goal tally.

 
In the second half, Bruno registered his fifth goal for the club as he made it 4-0. Festivities came to a close when Park Jeong-in in the 73rd minute made it five. Asan completely gave up and Seoul ran riot in Mokdong on this warm afternoon.

 
The win is the highest win for Seoul E-Land in the league. Some other examples would be their 5-1 win against Suwon FC in their inaugural season and their 6-0 win over Bucheon 1995, however, that was in the Korean Cup last season. The win does wonders for the side, putting them back in a playoff spot as well as giving them a good goals-scored number, something that could prove vital come the business end of the season.

 
Full Time: Seoul E-Land 5-0 Chungnam Asan

Drawing the Line, Chungbuk Cheongju

Chungbuk Cheongju welcomed Bucehon 1995 to town in the last round of the 2024 K League 2. In what ended up as a 0-0 draw, Cheongju went and recorded their fourth draw of the campaign. This is the highest amount of draws in the league along with Chungnam Asan and Seongnam.

A side that now sits in 4th in the K League 2, they have already shown improvement from the year prior which was already declared a successful season for the side in their debut in the K League 2. Cheongju will hope to push on in the league and continue to push for promotion to the K League 1. 

We saw the same idea come from Gimpo last year. They had a respectable 8th-placed finish in their first season in the K League 2 in 2022 and then made it all the way to the promotion/ relegation final, losing to Gangwon in the 2023 season.

Cheongju will hope to get inspiration from this and push on and make an impact in Korean football. They have already turned a few heads, knocking out Daegu FC in the Korean Cup and winning their first three games in the K League 2.
However their form has slightly dropped in the league over the last couple of games and just like Seoul, they will hope to pick themselves.

Brilliant Bruno

Over the last couple of weeks, Seoul have been far from the side some expected to see this year. However, with this being said, there is one player who has still shown class and talent throughout the games. Bruno Silva has been the lifeline for Seoul E-Land over the last couple of weeks. The Brazilian is the top goal scorer in K League 2 with five goals, second in assists with three, and top of the goal and assist chart with eight.

 

Bruno manages to pull a goal out of anywhere in the league. His first goal was the first one in the Suwon Samsung Bluewings game which elated the Seoul faithful. He then got to work and put two past Seongnam before the team collapsed and allowed the game to finish 2-2. Bruno once again ran riot against Asan on the weekend, scoring another brace.

 

If Bruno can be fed the ball, he has an eye for goal and knows how to put the ball in the back of the net. He has pace and power in his runs and if the ball can be given to him in a promising position, then Bruno has the confidence to find the back of the net. Seoul may have a real star on their hands if he can continue to play the way he has been in the previous rounds.

[LINK: From the Stands: Taking a Look at Seoul E-Land's Newest Fan Group 'Guncheong']

What is Seoul's Goal?

As stated earlier. Things were getting a bit edgy in Leoul Park before that Asan game. Seoul could not seem to find a win everywhere and the team looked deflated. Seoul have the opportunity now to go and grab the league by the scruff of the neck. They showed last weekend that they have the experience and star power in the side to go and dismantle any team in the league.

 
Seoul need to turn it on every week if they are to have any chance of promotion this year. Maybe their dip in form so early in the season is a good thing in hindsight as they will learn from their mistakes so early on. Where other teams may drop come the long hot summer in Korea, Seoul may match on. Here is to hoping...