Daegu on the brink after trashing in Anyang

Anyang returned to winning ways by dismantling Daegu on Tuesday night. The victory was never in doubt once Yago opened the scoring from the spot, but any hopes of a rally were ended when Caoi was given a straight red card approaching half time.

FC Anyang 4 (Yago p, 29', Kim Bo-kyeong 45', Choi Sung-beom 82', Mota 93')

Daegu FC 0

FC Anyang annihilated beleaguered Daegu FC in front of nearly six thousand delirious fans tonight. The victory lifts some of the pressure on manager Ryu Byeong-hoon and takes his side to ninth, above Jeju United. Anyang have played a game more but the devastating nature of this performance will long live in the memory of the local faithful. It doesn't need me to tell you they were superb. 

From the reliability of Kim Da-sol between the sticks, to Kwon Gyeong-won's debut alongside the popular Thomas Oude Kotte in defense, the devastating duo of Kim Bo-kyoung and Kim Jeong-hyeon in midfield, and Yago's pace on the flanks. It was the perfect Tuesday night for Anyang, capped off by substitute Mota's 10th of the season near the end. Mota was still celebrating his call up for Team K League.

For Daegu, survival looks beyond them now. They were utterly hopeless tonight, with the exception of their captain Cesinha. The Brazilian will line up beside Mota in Suwon next week, but, for now, he must be wondering what more he can do to help his club. Cesinha was the only threat on a terrible night that saw his team reduced to 10 men when they were already two goals behind.

As a result of Suwon's demolition of Pohang tonight, Daegu are now eight points adrift and without a win since early May. There's no way back for Kim Byeong-so now, surely.

[READ: Full 2025 Team K League Squad Announced]

Anyang dropped into the bottom three for the first time since the opening weeks of the season following their loss in Jeju last weekend. This setback extended their losing streak to three matches. The Violets started today on 24 points from 22 matches, trailing Jeju United by two points. On paper, this appeared to be a comfortable start to the second half of the season for Anyang, with games against Jeju, Daegu FC, and Suwon FC. Those were the three sides below Anyang when the action resumed last Friday.

Influential midfielder Matheus Oliveira picked up a suspension in Jeju, and therefore missed this tie. Manager Ryu Byeong-hoon made several changes to his side following the quick turnaround in fixtures. Nine-goal hero Bruno Mota, fresh from his call-up for Team K League, started on the bench alongside compatriot Eduardo. In defense, experienced centre-back Kwon Gyeong-won made his debut after arriving from the Middle East. Kim Woon made a rare start up front, alongside Yago.

Daegu's new manager Kim Byeong-soo is no stranger to relegation battles and after seeing his side blow a valuable 2-0 half time lead to Gimcheon Sangmu, there's no doubt Daegu are now red hot favorites for the drop. Daegu came here five points adrift in 12th, and 12 points from safety. They haven't won since beating Jeju in round 11, all the way back in May. It is hard to believe Daegu were the early pacesetters. 

Brazilian Geovani made his second appearance in sky blue. But, as ever, all hopes of survival rest on the shoulders of veteran legend Cesinha. Despite Daegu's miserable season, Cesinha was a lock for another Team K League appearance, backed by his five goals and three assists in 11 appearances. His average rating this campaign according to K League is a whopping 7.5. Only Anyang's Mota comes close.

Cesinha was helpless in the opening minutes as Anyang started strongly. They won successive free-kicks in the same spot just outside the Daegu box. The second of these free kicks involved a clever switchback which saw Kim Dong-jin clip the ball towards the back post. Anyang looked destined to score but keeper Oh Seung-hoon got down smartly to block the shot. From that corner, Anyang fans thought they scored when Kim Bo-kyoung's rasping shot hit the side netting. 

New Anyang signing Ivan Jukic watched on from the stands. The left winger has spent his entire career in the Bosnian and Croatian leagues but Anyang will be hoping he can adapt to the harsh humid summers quickly. Anyang's form has naturally tailed off after a good start to the year, but the lack of experience is beginning to bite. Kwon should offer plenty of comfort at the back alongside Thomas Oude Kotte and Lee Chang-yong. But left side of midfield has been an area of weakness, hence Jukic's signing.

Goalkeeper Oh was then involved in the game's first major talking point. Anyang ripped Daegu's defense to shreds on 27 minutes. A neat passing exchange saw veteran midfielder Kim Bo-kyoung played through on goal. Kim attempted to round Oh but was sliced down, injuring himself in the process. Yago stepped up and coolly sent Oh the wrong way to open the scoring.

Kim Bo-kyoung's break led to the penalty which Yago converted.

It sounds obvious but Anyang's hopes of retaining their K League status depends on how they do against the other potential strugglers. Prior to the loss in Jeju, Anyang had done well against the teams below them in the table. This was their third meeting of 2025 against Daegu, and they had collected four points from six in the other encounters.

Daegu offered barely any threat in the opening 40 minutes of this game. Thomas was lucky to escape without a yellow when he cynically prevented a counter attack on 38 minutes. He soon picked up the yellow when he pulled back Cesinha on the edge of the box and ended all doubts about entering the referee's book when he booted the ball down field. If you're gonna pick up a yellow, this felt like a great way to do it.

Cesinha stood over that free kick. He was 22 yards out and in the middle of the goal. The boos rang out around Anyang Stadium as we sensed some magic from the maestro. Kim Jeong-hyeon, already having a great match in central midfield, did everything he could to put off the Brazilian. The boos rang louder and louder. And then he stepped up. The tension was noticeable......until Cesinha slipped on the heavily watered surface and his effort sailed harmlessly over. Anyang celebrated like they'd scored a winner, with sukhavati ringing around the old palace.

In a madcap final few minutes, Kim Bo-kyoung rolled back the years when he did what Cesinha couldn't do, and find the back of the net from a free kick. Yago was sliced down on the edge of the box. Kim stepped up, and curled a gorgeous effort over the wall. Kim and Yago had set up and scored both goals. The fun wasn't over, however. Cesinha, a menace throughout, saw his powerful effort palmed out by goalkeeper Kim Da-sol. Sadly for Daegu, the ball bounced away from his teammates. 

A truly disastrous half ended in the worst possible way for Daegu. Brazilian Caio Marcelo was shown  straight red card in the ensuing melee after what appeared to be an elbow on Kwon Gyeong-won. 

2 goals and a man down. It looked very bleak for Daegu. Anyang ran off the pitch. Daegu slumbered.

[READ: Suwon FC's Andrigo is delighted to just get an opportunity]

Kim Byeong-so made two changes at the break, sacrificing a pair of midfielders for two defenders. Cesinha was now leading the line alone and at various points in the opening 15 minutes, he was at least 20 yards ahead of his teammates. After he saw another promising free kick hit the wall, he stood motionless on the spot for nearly a minute after. It is hard not to feel really sorry for the captain.

Kim Bo-kyoung lasted 66 minutes in what was surely his best performance in years. After struggling at Suwon Bluewings, Kim's arrival in Anyang was met with mixed emotions. No-one could doubt his class and experience, but the question was whether he still had the fight in him. On today's evidence, Anyang have nothing to worry about. Alongside the destructive Kim Jeong-hyeon, Anyang comfortably won that midfield battle.

Anyang brought on youth and pace in the form of Choi Sung-beom and Chae Hyeon-woo to close out the game. With Daegu impotent in attack, Anyang could soak up pressure and hit the visitors on the break through Yago, Chae, and Choi. With twenty minutes to play, the plan was working well.

Man of the match Kim Bo-kyoung enjoys the post-match celebrations.

The game should have been put beyond Daegu on 77 minutes when Kim Jeong-hyeon played a wonderful 30-yard through ball for Choi to run on to. The forward opened his body and went for the bottom left corner but the ball skidded wide. The pass from Kim was so good it needs to be shown to kids up and down the country. It deserved the appropriate finish.

By this point, Daegu were waiting for the game to be over. Anyang were saving energy and even the crowd went into a long lull. A spark was needed, but where would it come from?

It came from Choi. Collecting the ball on the edge of the box, he ran sideways towards the middle of the box and fired a low shot into the bottom corner. Oh will be unhappy when he catches the reply but it was a nice finish and Choi's second of the campaign. He celebrated by taking a white CHOI 11 shirt from the crowd and parading it in front of the terrace.

The buoyant home crowd got what they came from right at the end. A 4-on-1 counterattack saw Choi find the unmarked Bruno Mota. Mota skipped inside onto his left foot and fired an unstoppable 20 yard drive into the same corner Choi had found minutes before. This was Mota's 10th of the year and caps a memorable week for him.

Game over. But is Daegu's season over, too? It doesn't look good.

Up next

Anyang make the short trip south to face a Suwon FC side basking in the glory of a whopping 5-1 win in Pohang tonight. That win followed their come-from-behind victory against Gwangju on Friday. Since swapping Sangam for Suwon, Willyan has already scored three in one-and-a-half appearances.

Daegu, hammered in Anyang, meet Pohang Steelers, hammered by Suwon FC, on Sunday night. The game between the regional rivals will be in Daegu. A somber atmosphere awaits. 

Best player: Kim Bo-kyoung.

Attendance: 5,368.