Suwon pay the penalty against Gimpo

Stanislav Iljutcenko missed a brace of second half penalties as Suwon Samsung dropped two points against struggling Gimpo FC on Sunday night. The result sees the Bluewings fall nine points behind Incheon United after the first round robin fixtures are completed.

Suwon Samsung 1 (Serafim 57')

Gimpo FC 1 (Luis Mina 41')

When leading goal scorer Stanislav Iljutcenko was sent crashing inside the box with 20 minutes to go, no-one in Big Bird could have imagined what would happen next. The German striker's appeals were waved away, but after Gimpo won a corner, the referee was instructed to watch the replays on the pitch side TV.

He didn't spend long doing so. Penalty awarded. And a breathless second-half was about to get more insane. Iljutcenko went left, low and hard. It wasn't quite in the corner, but it was a good effort. The penalty was saved. Redemption for Son Jeong-hyeon after his error cost Gimpo the lead. Actually, no. The keeper had stepped off his line, and the referee ordered a retake.

This time Iljutcenko went to his right. The penalty was a good height for the keeper and luckily for Gimpo, he guessed right. Extraordinary scenes. The keeper rightly celebrated with his teammates. Little did we know at the time, but the hammer blow of that double save completely sapped Suwon. After an average first half, Suwon blew the gates open after the break. It was enthralling viewing. But that moment robbed the hosts of the perfect comeback.

Manager Byun Seung-hwan will have to pick his deflated team off the floor this week. The gap to Incheon United is already looking insurmountable. Incheon dropped just five points in the first round robin. The Bluewings will need to go unbeaten, starting with Bucheon next weekend, if they are to close the gap.

For Gimpo, a good point earned after a very tough start to the season. The team is far too good to be so far adrift of the last playoff spot. Maybe this is the result they were looking for.

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Suwon manager Byun Seung-hwan made just one change from the side which blitzed Busan IPark in Gudeok last week. Young midfielder Lee Min-hyeok made way for the experience of Lee Gyu-sung, on loan from Ulsan HD. Gyu-sung was the hero here last month when his 91st minute belter beat former club Seongnam FC in a wild derby.

Despite Suwon's good form of late, Incheon United keep hoovering up wins, opening up a 10 point gap on their Gyeonggi rivals with a comfortable victory over Jeonnam Dragons. There is simply no room for error now. Suwon's opponents, Gimpo FC, have endured a surprisingly difficult start to the 2025 season, languishing near the foot of the table. That's despite possessing a powerful front line including Luis Mina and Leonard Pllana. 

A lackluster opening half was heading to a dreary conclusion until the Gimpo front line played four one-touch balls in succession, freeing up Kim Ji-hoon on the right. The winger went for placement over power, bringing out a smart save at his near post from Yang Hyeong-mo. Kim should have buried it, even if the save was top class from Suwon's skipper. The build up play deserved better. It was Brazil at their best in the 80's. Even the home fans were in awe of what they had just witnessed.

Suwon could have done with that kick up the rear-end. Since the opening weeks of the season, Byun Sung-hwan's team have become masters at first-half goal sprees on home soil. But following Kim's miss, the stats showed the Bluewings had registered just one attempt on goal in the opening half-hour. The howls of discontent from the stands told its own story.

Before the match, Suwon hosted Brazilian Day, to acknowledge the impact of their South American quartet in the first set of fixtures. Only Serafim was fit enough to start. Bruno Silva is a game-changer on the left flank, but he's been missing for the past few matches. Leo, after a bright start to his Suwon career, was on the bench.

There was a strong Latin American feel to the opening goal, but the final touch was added by Colombian Luis Mina. The forward met Kim Ji-hoon's cross from the right to head past Yang into the bottom corner. It was an excellent finish from the expert marksman, and no more than Gimpo deserved. This was Luis' 36th goal in 81 K League 2 matches for Gimpo. One wonders why he's still here.

They took that slender advantage to the changing rooms as the big screen played a quiz featuring the Brazilian four.

[READ: Groundhopper's Guide to Suwon World Cup Stadium]

Suwon doubled their Brazilian contingent in the second half. It is difficult to apportion too much blame on the very young shoulders of Park Seung-soo, but the 18-year-old local prodigy is better used off the bench against tiring legs. He has excellent footwork and dribbling skills but we saw none of that in the opening half. Paulinho replaced the youngster at the break. Paulinho went straight into the front left position, alongside Stanislav Iljutcenko and Serafim.

Paulinho's impact was immediate. The former Cheonan City winger picked out Lee Gyu-sung on the edge of the box, but Lee's right footed drive flew just wide of the right hand post. The effort may not have been on target, however it was the first shot in anger from the home side. They needed to build on it.

And build on it they almost did. Much like Gimpo's chance in the opening half, some excellent football almost saw the Bluewings level the match. Lee Gyu-sung's deft dink into the box was chested down by Stanislav Iljutcenko into the path of the on-rushing Paulinho. The ball bounced too high for the Brazilian and he just couldn't make a good contact, watching his first time effort sail harmlessly over.

Suwon didn't have to wait long for their equalizer, and it was fully deserved, even if the goal itself was extremely lucky. It all started with midfielder Choi Young-jun spraying a glorious 50 yard left to right ball into the path of Serafim. The winger's shot was saved but from the resulting corner, Serafim headed goalward. Gimpo's keeper Son Jeong-hyeon dropped the ball and it crossed the line.

The goalkeeper quickly regathered but all 22 players knew the ball had crossed the line. As we waited for confirmation, the Gimpo players were ready to restart the match from the halfway line. The goal was given and now we had a match. After a tepid opening 45, this was much more like it from the home team. 

Within two minutes, this wild second half had completely shifted. Stanislav Iljutcenko was fouled in the box. The referee missed the foul, but after a brief delay, he was instructed to watch the monitor. It was possibly the shortest review I've seen. Penalty given. 

Incredibly, Iljutcenko's kick was saved. But that wasn't the end of the drama. The penalty had to be retaken because the goalkeeper, Son Jeong-hyeon, was off his line. However.....Son saved again! Surreal scenes.

That double whammy took the wind out of Suwon's sails. The intensity dropped significantly, and the players couldn't make a pass. With 15 minutes to go, this was anyone's match.

It is amazing watching a team effectively collapse after such a disappointment. The Suwon players had worked hard but seeing their talismanic striker lose the battle of wits with the goalkeeper floored the Bluewings. They manufactured nothing as the match drew to an end. Gimpo players took every contact to spoil the final minutes, as expected.

And that was that. Two points dropped to fall further behind the leaders, Incheon United.

Up next

Suwon Samsung will be back on home soil next Sunday when Gyeonggi rivals Bucheon FC 1995 make the short trip south for the 19:00 meeting. When the sides met in April, Bucheon came from behind to earn a deserved point.

Gimpo FC will be on the road again, also on Sunday. They take their middling form down to Chungnam Asan at 16:30. The previous meeting was played the same day as Bucheon vs. Suwon above. It also ended 1-1, with the home team needing a late equalizer to rescue a draw. Leonard Pllana was the hero.

Best player: Son Jeong-hyeon

Attendance: 12,396.

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