The K League 1 Wrap-Up: Goalless Gangwon, Gimcheon Gain Ground, and Jeonbuk Show Steady Improvements

After a decent round of K League 1 action, one which offered little in the form of drama but some interesting talking points, columnist Nathan Sartain returns to offer a wrap-up to the weekend's action.

Jeonbuk's Joy

After an initially positive start to the year began to fizzle out for Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, Gus Poyet has worked to find solutions that will get the Green Warriors back on track.

Last weekend, that meant grinding out a 1-0 win away at FC Anyang. In round seven, however, things were better all-round for Jeonbuk. Comfortable in dealing with any pressure from league leaders Daejeon Hana Citizen, the Green Warriors grew in confidence as the game went on, and smartly took two key second-half chances to leave with a 2-0 victory on the road. Suddenly, Jeonbuk have now moved ahead of reigning champions Ulsan HD in the table, and are again beginning to look like a side which might enjoy a positive transition season as Gus Poyet continues to adjust to the K League.

[READ: Ulsan HD “Satisfied” With Club World Cup Prize Money.]

Gimcheon Push Forward

Following a midweek victory against Ulsan HD, Daejeon Hana Citizen looked to be building a sturdy lead atop of K League 1. However, Gimcheon Sangmu capitalised this weekend on a rare slip-up from the Purples, cutting the gap at the top of the division to just two points (with the military side also boasting a game-in-hand).

In the first-half of their 2-0 win over Daegu, Gimcheon created a multitude of chances prior to breaking the deadlock via a long-range Kim Seung-sub effort, but at the same time did concede plenty of opportunities to the Sky Blues who, offside goal aside, just couldn’t find the clinical edge they needed. Nevertheless, once the military side scored their second goal before the break, they managed the game effectively, with the best chances of the second period for either side coming from disallowed offside efforts.

In terms of the other potential title challengers, Ulsan HD drew 0-0 with FC Seoul on Saturday in a game which will please the visitors more than anyone, though it does extend the capital city side’s winless run against the Horangi to 23 games (15 wins, eight draws).

When Will Suwon FC's Win Come?

By the law of averages alone, Suwon FC must be nearing their first win of 2025. It’s been a really slow start for last season’s fifth-placed side, a team which had up until now always won at least one game at this stage of a top-flight campaign since their first year back in K League 1 (2021), and such unwanted form will certainly begin to sting more given they’ve dropped points from winning positions in each of their last two home matches.

Still, on Saturday there were at least some positives to take from a 1-1 draw with a generally in-form Pohang Steelers. For starters, Suwon went through stages of putting almost relentless pressure on their opponents, taking six of their 13 shots on target. And, in fairness to a side which could easily possess diminished confidence, they responded positively to being pegged back, and looked more likely to grab any sort of winner. With second-place Gimcheon Sangmu up next for Kim Eun-jung’s men, it’ll be a tough ask to expect any grand turnaround to begin here, but another step in the right direction could be beneficial in the long-run as Suwon seek to ultimately avoid being kept in the relegation places.

Gangwon's Goal Drought

The last few weeks have been difficult for Gangwon, who have now lost three consecutive games, all without scoring. What doesn’t help, of course, is that the Bears currently average 2.5 shots on target per game (the second-lowest in the division), and only win possession in the final third an average of 2.3 times per 90 too. This lack of a higher press, and then in turn less urgency to progress the ball into threatening areas, has ultimately led to an increase in pressure on the team's defence, and the type of situations which can breed a lack of goalscoring, as well as more room for opposing teams to impose themselves on a match.

Similar to how early in 2024 Gangwon needed to strike a balance between their potent attack and shaky goals conceded record, in 2025 the Bears need to sacrifice some of their sturdy structure and return to a reasonable level of proactivity. Of course, the loss of two of the team's best creative outlets in Hwang Mun-ki and Yang Min-hyuk is a factor, and defensive improvements are worth praising, but there has to be ways to create clearer-cut chances going forward, and find the results that will take the team into the mid-table range.

Don't Forget About Gwangju!

In Sunday’s other game, a 90th-minute Reis winner gave Gwangju FC their second victory of the campaign, pushing them up into the top-half. It’s been a steady start to the season for the Griffins, who have impressed in the AFC Champions League Elite, and generally managed their domestic games with more confidence than in 2024. They’ll need a few more wins to really cement their ambitions - their four draws are the joint-highest in the division, alongside Suwon FC - yet avoiding defeat on all but one occasion bodes well.

And that just about covers things. As a closing thought, FC Anyang’s first home win of the season should give them some self-belief heading into some key games, and perhaps begin to spur them on to having a comfortable enough debut outing in the top-flight.