Preview: Asan Mugunghwa vs FC Anyang

Both Asan Mugunghwa and FC Anyang enter the weekend off of comprehensive losses to Busan IPark and Seoul E-Land respectively when they meet at Yi Sun-sin Stadium on Saturday afternoon in K League 2 Round 7.  In what was billed as the match of the round, Busan ran roughshod over Asan, winning by a final of 5-2, while Anyang was outclassed 4-1 by E-Land.  Both teams won big in the head to head last season, so it will remain to be seen how this one will play out.  KLU's Branko Belan is joined by Paul Bettridge for the preview.

Match: Asan Mugunghwa vs FC Anyang
Venue: Yi Sun-sin Stadium
Kickoff: Saturday April 20th, 2019; 15:00 KST

Last Time Out

Asan Mugunghwa 2-5 Busan IPark

In what was most likely Asan's worst performance in the past two years, they were already down a pair of goals by the time the match hit the ten minute mark, as Lee Jeong-hyeop netted a pair, including one from the penalty spot after he was taken down by Yang Hyung-mo, and the decision was confirmed by VAR.  Yang made the original save, but Lee was able to convert his rebound.

Ko Mu-yeol would pull one back for the home side only minutes later, as he took a pass from Ahn Hyun-beom and fired into the roof of the net.  Things would get worse for Asan when Kim Jun-su went off on a straight red for a last man challenge on Lee Dong-jun.  Rômulo would score Busan's third of the match on 36 minutes from the spot, and the visitors went to the break up two goals.

Asan would go down to nine men just minutes into the second half, when assistant captain Lee Han-saem went off for a second yellow.  Busan would cement their dominance in the second half, scoring two more goals within a space of three minutes through Kwon Yong-hyun and Diego Mauricio.  Lee Myung-joo would get a consolation for Asan in injury time, but it was nowhere near enough, and Busan strolled off with all three points.

Highlights: here

Seoul E-Land 4-1 FC Anyang

Things in the first half stayed relatively even until Kim Sang-won put Anyang in front on 24 minutes with a powerful strike just outside the six yard box as he pounced on a deflection.  The lead would last for all of twelve minutes, however, as Seo Gyeong-ju leveled proceedings after running half the length of the field, holding off a defender and firing across 'keeper Choi Pil-soo into the top of the net.

E-Land would absolutely take over the match in the second half, as Douglas Coutinho scored a brace, finding the net on 68 and 80 minutes, with Kim Min-kyun adding to the damage with a goal of his own on 75 minutes, and E-Land walked away with their most satisfying victory in a long while.  It was their first win of the season and nudged them up to eighth in the table for the time being.

Highlights: here

Previous Meetings

Asan has had a distinct advantage overall in the series with Anyang, winning fourteen matches, while Anyang have won half as many.  Four matches between the two have ended in draws.  Asan have only managed a plus seven goal differential overall, meaning that most of their wins against their Saturday opposition have been by close margins, although they did record a 3-0 win against them last season.

Anyang also won 3-0 last season, at a time when Asan were well on their way to clinching the K League 2 title, so the loss came as a bit of a shock, although Asan did manage to exact some revenge by beating Anyang 2-1 in their final home match when it was thought that the club would fold because the Police Agency didn't submit a recruitment plan for the new season, so it was felt that it was the end of an era.

Asan will hope that their previous luck will continue so that they can put an end to their two match slide.

Team News

Park Dong-hyuk will have some things to consider when making his lineup selection this weekend, as Kim Jun-su will be out for two matches thanks to his red card suspension, while Lee Han-saem will also miss the match after picking up successive yellow cards at the beginning of the second half in the loss to Busan.  Lee Myung-joo and Nam Hee-cheol also went into the book, so the hope is that the starting eleven is not too thin if Asan are hoping to turn the tide and get a result at home.

Their form against Busan was considerably poor - uncharacteristic of what they have shown for most of the season so far, as two of Busan's goals came from the penalty spot.  It can't be forgotten that Asan conceded three to Anyang in a match last season, so they will need to tighten up at the back if they want to guarantee three points.

According to Paul Bettridge, Anyang have no significant injury problems for this match, or suspensions.  However, they do have the issue of confidence and it will be at an all-time low after the loss to E-Land 4-1.  Anyang will most likely plan to form a counter attacking 5-3-2, utilising the pace of their forward options, whilst trying to be more defensive with the recent issues.  The defensive line will be further back than before and it's likely that one of the foreigner players will be dropped to the bench.

Trying to force all the players into the line-up has caused some system issues, namely the dynamics of who gets the ball and who should be prioritised with passing or receiving the ball, which teams have realised is Alex.  With oppositions seemingly now marking him out of the game, after the first game of the season versus Busan.  It’s likely that a change of system or players is needed, maybe employing an extra midfielder to give more space is an option.

The Adversary

Anyang are a team with issues, they've struggled in the K league 2 thus far, against oppositions whose system is to attack with overlaps, or aerial ability. Luckily for Anyang they're coming up against a team with exactly the same problems.

In addition, it’s possible Anyang will look to change to a more direct approach, with the inclusion of a more hold up player instead of Kovtulyuk. This will hopefully mean that the team performance is more well-rounded. While Asan are a very strong team they've shown to be suspect recently, and this could be the perfect time to try and take advantage and maintain pace with a league that is changing every week.

Look for Anyang to score a goal through their pace on the break, but also their defensive fragility to show through again. With no clean sheets all season it’s looking likely that this game will feature some goals; Asan to use their high intensity fitness-based game plan, to abuse the scared and youth-focused Anyang back line.

-Paul Bettridge

Prediction

Asan were considered one of the teams who were expected to challenge for the title once again this season, but the past two matches have gotten away from them a bit.  Busan completely controlled the match last week, and Asan can ill afford to drop any more points at home this early in the season.

Anyang are reeling after a harsh loss last week, and it will be difficult to pick themselves up after such a poor performance considering they will be on the road once again.  The good news is that a win would move them up to mid-table depending on other results, so they will want to have a better showing than last week.

Asan have slipped to third and sit on nine points, but are only three off the pace, and that should be motivation enough for them to get up for this one.  They will have to dig deep and re-focus.  Should they do so successfully, they will take the points and turn their attention to staying in contention with the lead pack.

Prediction: Asan Mugunghwa 2-1 FC Anyang