Gimcheon Sangmu head to Jeju aiming to keep their faltering title hopes alive

With the end of the regular season fast approaching, Sunday sees a game that could impact both ends of the table as Gimcheon Sangmu makes the short flight to Jeju Island, looking to keep alive their faltering title hopes against a United side hoping to put some distance between themselves and the bottom two. Guest columnist Stuart Warren previews this weekend's match.

Recent Form

For a Gimcheon Sangmu side that still harbors title hopes, a recent dip in form has seen them pick up just four points out of a possible 15, resulting in their slipping down to fourth place. Despite this, they are still just three points off leaders Gangwon FC in what is becoming a very congested top six. They looked to be heading for a much-needed win at home to Daejeon Hana Citizen in the last game; 2-0 up and cruising during the second half, an own goal from Park Seung-wook and an injury-time strike from Kim Hyeon-woo saw them surrender their two-goal lead. The game will probably be remembered more, though, for a wonder strike and goal-of-the-season contender from Lee Dong-gyeong, who showed unbelievable technique by hitting a 25-yard volley to give his side a first-half lead.

Having been comfortably in mid-table for most of the season, Jeju United may now be starting to look nervously over their shoulder as the gap between them and the drop zone closes. They are also coming into this fixture off the back of a particularly horrendous week: firstly, being crushed 5-0 on Sunday away at Suwon in a game that also saw forward Reis given his marching orders. They then followed this up by crashing out in the semi-final of the cup, losing 2-1 in Pohang (3-2 on aggregate). As tight as things are at the top of the table, the bottom is equally close, and United now find themselves just four points above the bottom two, with the resurgent Daegu and Daejeon hot on their heels.

This Season’s Meetings

This will be the third and more than likely the final meeting between the sides this season, with Gimcheon looking to complete a treble over their opponents. They first met early in the season in Jeju, with Gimcheon running out 2-0 winners thanks to first-half strikes from Kim Hyeon-ug and Kang Hyun-muk. The second clash was a tighter affair in Gimcheon, with a solitary goal from Kim Tae-hyun handing the home side the points in a 1-0 win.

Key Players

When we look at the key players for each side, for Gimcheon we have to look no further than star midfielder Lee Dong-gyeong. The former Ulsan man hit his tenth goal of the season in spectacular fashion last Sunday and, on top of this, has eight assists in what has been a very impressive season. His haul of 18 goals and assists sees him top the K-League standings for goal contributions this season. He has been at the heart of Gimcheon’s success this season and will no doubt be the danger man once again this Sunday.

Jeju will be missing one of their star men this weekend, with midfielder Reis serving a suspension for his red card in the defeat at Suwon last weekend. The Brazilian has been a key part of Jeju’s attack this season and will surely be a miss for this game. In his absence, fellow countryman Yuri will be looking to fill the void and add to his tally of four goals this season in what has been a bit of a stop-start campaign, often seeing him feature from the bench.

Prediction

Despite Gimcheon’s stuttering form of late, they can take all three points against a low-in-confidence Jeju side who will be looking to put things right after a terrible past week - a hard-fought 1-0 victory for the army side.