FA Cup Preview: Incheon United vs FC Pocheon

Even after the dramatic late win over FC Seoul in the Gyeongin Derby at the weekend, it's time for Incheon United to forget about their K League woes and focus on the Korean FA Cup. The Durumi take on K3 League Advanced standouts FC Pocheon on Wednesday Evening at Sungui Arena. 
(Image via K League)

Last Time Out

Incheon United 2-1 FC Seoul
Incheon recorded just their second win of the 2018 K League season, beating rivals FC Seoul 2-1 in the Gyeongin Derby on Sunday evening. Things didn't start well for the hosts at the Sungui Arena, when Lee Sangho gave Seoul the lead after just five minutes. However Incheon rallied and equalised shortly after through Nam Jaejun. The game slowed down after the early action, mainly due to the heat. Part way into the second half Seoul were reduced to ten, Lee Woonghee sent off for a second booking. Incheon made the extra man count with Moon Seonmin going on to score the winner with only four minutes to play.

FC Pocheon 4-2 Gimpo Citizen
Pocheon won an important game in the K3 League title picture at the weekend beating Gimpo Citizen 4-2. The two sides went into half time level at 2-2 but it was Pocheon who had the better of the second half, scoring after 68mins and a fourth goal in injury time.

Previous Meetings

Incheon and FC Pocheon have never played each other in a competitive match before and so Wednesday's meeting will be the first. However, it should be noted that FC Pocheon have a couple of K League scalps to their name - Seoul E-Land (2017) and Daejeon Citizen (2014).

Who To Watch

Incheon United's only current Korean International Moon Seon-Min had a great game at the weekend coming off the bench to score the winning goal. He now has nine K League goals, making him the top Korean scorer in the league.

The main creative outlet for Incheon at the moment is Costa Rican Elis Aguilar. He fed the ball into Go Seulki who laid on the assist for the winning goal on Sunday, and caused Seoul numerous problems.

Finally the Incheon defence looked better on Sunday, but over the season it's been a huge issue. The cup seems like a good chance to try out some backup and even youth team players and perhaps find a diamond in the rough.

As for FC Pocheon, a couple of names stood out during their game at the weekend are midfielder Kim Dongwook, who provided two assists and seems to be a key creative player, as well as captain Jeong Wooin has over 100 games of K League experience previously playing for both Gwangju and Gangwon.
They also have a Brazilian in their squad called Vinicius Fabbron. He was once on the books of Italian Giants AC Milan. However the 29 year old never progressed to their first team.

Prediction

Incheon will have their work cut out on Wednesday against one of the best the lower leagues of Korean football has to offer in the form of FC Pocheon. Players will be rested, but in order to maintain the buzz from Sundays derby win I don't see sweeping changes.

Incheon will be favourites to win and will look to control possession and catch Pocheon on the break. Neither side has a strong back four, but both are impressive moving forward. Therefore there should be a few goals. I see Incheon coming out on top and progressing to the next round.

Predicted Score: Incheon United 2-1 FC Pocheon