Preview: Ansan Greeners vs Bucheon FC 1995

Ansan Greeners welcome Bucheon 1995 to the Wa~ Stadium on Monday evening in a must-win sixth versus seventh encounter in K League 2. Both sides will be looking to get their ailing playoff challenges back on track with a victory in what promises to be a tight affair.

Last Time Out

Ansan were on the wrong end of a five-goal thriller last weekend as Suwon FC came away from the Wa~ with all three points at the death. Kim Dae-eui’s men opened the scoring midway through the first forty-five through Cho Yu-min’s swivel and shot from Baek Seong-dong’s free-kick. The Green Wolves brought parity on the half hour mark when Lee In-jae headed home Gustavo Vintecinco’s cut back into an unguarded net, after a Jang Hyeok-jin set-piece had been been kept out by Park Hyeong-soon.

The visitors went back in front on the stroke of half-time following Hwang Byeong-kwon’s precise headed finish from Jang Jun-yeong’s deep left-wing cross. The Green Wolves’ reply was instant however, Lee Chang-hoon leveled matters with a composed volleyed effort after expertly controlling Jang’s lofted pass. The Castle Park outfit were not to be denied, despite being pegged back twice, and won it in injury time through An Byong-jun, who converted from twelve yards, after Kim Yeon-soo had clumsily tangled with the North Korean international forward in the penalty area.

Highlights: here

Bucheon faced strong opposition last Monday in the form of automatic promotion hopefuls, Busan IPark, but came into the game with a lot of belief as they were unbeaten against the South Gyeongsang side in their past five meetings. However, the Gyeonggi hosts were unable to extend this run and succumbed to a 3-1 home defeat. Cho Deok-je's eleven took the lead with a brace from Lee Jeong-hyeop, scoring in the thirty eighth and fifty ninth minutes.

1995 forward, Kim Chan-hee came on as a substitute for the underachieving Ecuadorian striker, Marlon de Jesus before the break, and this decision was proven to be correct, as Kim pulled one back for the home team with sixty six on the clock. For the rest of the affair, the Sudogwon club looked likely to grab an equaliser and retain their title of IPark’s ‘bogey team’, but all hope of a share of the spoils vanished when Busan netted a killer third courtesy of Kim Jin-gyu’s effort with eighty five gone. While Song Sun-ho’s men will be upset with the result, they should be happy with the fact that they matched the early title contenders in terms of both possession and shots on target. Achieving that feat against such a high flying team was impressive, and is bound to give Bucheon a lot of confidence going into their next fixture with Ansan, who are only one point ahead of them in the table.

By George Slade

Previous Meetings

The Green Wolves showed great character in their comeback success at the Bucheon Stadium in mid-April. Song Sun-ho's team went one-up late into the first-half after Kim Jae-woo’s angled drive from former Ansan attacking midfielder, Moon Ki-han’s through-ball beat Lee Hee-seong at his near post. The Greeners got back into it five minutes from time when Lee In-jae tapped in an equaliser, the centre-half reacted first to Choi Cheol-won’s terrific stop from Park Jin-seop’s header to bundle home his first goal of the year. The away eleven were reduced to ten moments later, when Vintecinco’s high boot connected with compatriot, Nilson’s upper thigh. Lim Wan-seop’s boys were not deterred by the dismissal though, as striker, Bang Chan-jun came off the bench to complete the turnaround in stoppage time with a fine side-footer from Jang’s ball to send the away support into raptures.

Team News

Ex-Gwangju and Seongnam goalkeeper, Hwang In-jae is expected to replace Lee Hee-seong between the Greeners’ sticks. Hwang has only conceded once from three league starts this term, an unfortunate own goal at the Yi Sun-sin after Kim Reo’s shot rebounded off his back after hitting the post. Hee-seong was dropped the last time he shipped in three, which came away at the Gudeok in late April. Lee In-jae will take the captain’s armband, if Lee Hee-seong is indeed omitted from the starting lineup.

The Adversary

Bucheon have not been registering desirable results recently, recording two draws and two losses in their past four outings, with their last victory coming in the shape of a 2-1 away win against bottom club, Seoul E-land at the end of April. That triumph, and most of their other positive results lately, was achieved using a 3-5-2 formation. Their defeat to Busan, along with most of their recent reversals, featured a 4-5-1 set-up. This does not necessarily mean the team’s layout is explicitly to blame, as Song Sun-ho has typically been using 4-5-1 against stronger opponents that are harder to take points from. However, as Ansan only sit in sixth place, this could be a good opportunity for Song's more successful 3-5-2 tactic to return.

1995 have had a lot of problems up front, with Kim Ryun-do being their only consistent attacker of late. If Bucheon do play 3-5-2, the question of who will partner him is uncertain. Marlon has normally been his strike partner, but the Ecuadorian has failed to find the net this season, and after his early substitution against IPark, he could find himself riding the bench for this contest. His replacement could be the man who came on for him in the Busan drubbing and had a goalscoring impact, Kim Chan-hee. There is also the matter regarding which keeper Song will opt to play in net. Choi Cheol-won was favoured earlier on in the campaign, but has missed out in the previous two fixtures, with Lee Young-chang deputising. In the first game, a 0-0 draw at home to Asan Mugunghwa, Lee had an outstanding evening and his performance earned him a place in the subsequent 'K League 2 team of the week'. After the loss to IPark, it remains to be seen if the gaffer will revert back to Choi or keep faith with Lee. As this is likely to be a closely fought battle, such decisions will be crucial in determining the outcome.

By George Slade

Who To Watch

Lee Chang-hoon has impressed for the Green Wolves so far this season. Standing at over six-feet tall, the 23-year-old is now being deployed as a centre-back, despite initially being signed as a targetman. Lee put in a superb shift in Ansan’s goalless stalemate at the Anyang Sports Complex in the Greeners' most recent bout on the road, the highlight of which was an excellent block from Alex’s goalbound attempt. The former Jeju United player also showed that he can offer a real threat in the offensive third with his well-taken chest-and-volley strike last time out, and gives Lim Wan-seop another option going forward with his astute hold-up play and dangerous aerial ability.

Prediction

The Green Wolves have not lost in their last six against Monday’s adversaries and will look at this fixture as a realistic chance to kick-start their flagging playoff aspirations. Lim Wan-seop looks set to recall Hwang to shore things up at the back and will be hoping for a much improved defensive display in order to keep Kim Chan-hee and company at bay in this clash.

Predicted Score: Ansan Greeners 1-0 Bucheon FC 1995