Tiago Heroics Save The Day as Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors Seal Safety

Former nine-times K League title winners Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors secured their place in next year’s K League 1 after battling past a resilient Seoul E-Land side to secure a 4-2 aggregate win in the Promotion-Relegation playoff.

After a nervy yet ultimately successful first leg in Mokdong where Jeonbuk came away two-goal winners, with Tiago and Jeon Jin-woo scoring either side of an Osmar equaliser, you would be forgiven for thinking that a team with the depth boasted by the Green Warriors backed by a strong support at their home ground should be a fairly straightforward conclusion.

Yet, as it has been shown many times throughout this campaign, this is far from the North Jeolla juggernaut we have long become accustomed to. Manager Kim Do-heon opted for conservatism, moving Park Jin-seob into central midfield and employing an untested central defensive partnership in Yeon Jae-woon and youngster Kim Ha-jun, a bold decision perhaps with safety on the line.

As a result, Jeonbuk made difficult work of their opponents for the first half, barely serving up a shot to test them, only to be burned in the added minutes before the interval.

Seoul E-Land took the lead through a well-taken header by Bruno Silva but plaudits must all be handed to the architect Montano whose turn and cross left Jeonbuk’s backline scrambling to deal with the inbound threat. 

A single change for Jeonbuk at half-time saw last Sunday’s scorer Jeon Jin-woo take to the field in the place of Jeon Byung-kwan. However, Tiago would find himself on the scoresheet once more, heading in a cross from Kim Jin-kyu and donning a Spider-Man mask he had prepared in celebration.

Both teams continued to make changes but no side seemed to show any signs of a breakthrough. Drama was to unfold close to the ninetieth minute however, when an altercation between Kim Tae-hwan and Lee Jun-seok saw both players dismissed and an additional eleven minutes of injury time added to the clock.

However, it was not enough for the visitors as they struggled to break Jeonbuk’s resolve. In the end, it would be the hosts who would find a second, with Jeon Jin-woo and Moon Seon-min combining and captilalising on the counter for the latter to convert and cue relieved celebrations in the stands.

The result means both sides will stay in the same divisions for next season. Heartbreak yet pride perhaps for a young and promising Seoul E-Land side who have surprised many this season with a brand of exciting attacking football under Kim Do-kyun that has their supporters optimistic about the road ahead. 

While celebrations may continue into the night in Jeonju, it will need to be an off-season of reflection and reinforcements for Jeonbuk as they assess where this campaign went so badly wrong.