Preview: Seoul E-Land Vs Jeonnam Dragons

Seoul E-Land made their long-awaited return to Jamsil in round 2 of the 2020 K League 2 season, in what was a respectable draw against Gyeongnam FC. After playing the two relegated teams from the K League 1 back to back in the opening fixtures. They finally face some familiar foes in the form of Jeonnam Dragons. The Dragons will make the trip up to the capital in the hope to continue their push up the table and to continue their winning ways.

Match Details

Fixture: Seoul E-Land vs Jeonnam Dragons
Venue: Seoul Olympic Stadium, Jamsil
Kick-off: Sunday, May 24th 2020, 4pm

 

Last Time Out

Jeonnam Dragons welcomed Jeju to Gwangyang on Saturday, as they were looking to get their first win of the season. The two sides had a chance in the first half, and both went in with some harsh tackles. The talking point of the first half came on the stroke of half time when Jeju's Kang Yoon-sung was accused of elbowing Hwang Ki-wook. A bit of afters then unfolded between the two teams. The match was a rather feisty affair, with six yellow cards, and a red (from a second booking) in the tie.

Jeonnam continued to press in the second half, they looked very dangerous on set pieces. This was proven in the 58th minute, as a free-kick, swing in by Lim Chang-kyoun was met by a Kim Ju-won header. Jeonnam got their opening goal.  Jeju tried to get back into the game, although, Jeonnam then put A lot of players back. It looked as if Jeju had a penalty in the 84th minute. Although, VAR intervened, as Lee Hu-kwon's handball was shown to be outside of the box. Regardless of the reversed decision, this did not save the midfielder, as he was shown a second yellow. Jeonnam were down to ten men. Jeju hit an on target freekick, which was well saved by Park Jun-hyuk. Jeju then piled on the pressure, but it was not to be. Jeonnam held on, in what was not exactly a convincing win.

Full Time: Jeonnam Dragons 1-0 Jeju United



Seoul E-Land welcomed Gyeongnam FC to Jamsil on Sunday afternoon. In a well-anticipated game for Seoul fans. They believe they may have an entirely new team, on their hands than in previous years. Seoul looked to pick up where they left off, with a respectable draw against Jeju away in the previous round. Jamsil was ready for the two teams, Seoul E-Land decorated the stadium with a tifo saying #thanks2_u, and also having banners supporting the side in the stands. It was a similar game to the Jeonnam vs Jeju fixture in this one, where there was not much to talk about in the first half. Seoul and Gyeongnam both had chances to take the lead, but nothing clear cut.

The first talking point came in the second half when Leandro was brought down in the 53rd minute and the referee awarded the penalty. The ref went to VAR, to confirm this, and it was not overturned. Leandro stepped up, and almost walked the ball into the net, there was no run-up here. Regardless of his antics, the Brazilian scored and put Seoul one to the good. Gyeongnam needed to respond, and it took them four minutes to do so. A cross into Park Chang-jun, saw him unmarked, as he tapped the ball into the net. Seoul let it slip. Gyeongnam pushed and were now on the front foot. in the 72nd minute, another failed attempt at defending from Seoul, saw an over the top through ball, drop to Baek Sung-dong. He struck the ball, and Seoul found themselves behind.  Once again, more Seoul defensive errors. Where have we seen this before?

Seoul E-Land did not give up in this tie, and Leandro was silky in his dribbling. Another scrap in the Gyeongnam box in the 82nd minute, saw captain Kim Min-kyun smash the ball into the back of the net. Seoul was fighting again, the fans have not seen anything like this for the last two years. As the dying moments of the game arrived, Seoul could have stolen it. Won Ki-jong tried his hardest to put the ball into the back of the net, at point-blank range. Yet, Gyeongnam keeper Son Jung-hyun had an excellent end to the game, saving them the point. Seoul fans feel that they could have taken all three points in the end, yet two points against the two relegated teams from the K League 1, is a good start for the Leopards. They will hope to push forward now, and get something out of the Jeonnam game.

Full Time: Seoul E-Land 2-2 Gyeongnam FC 

Previous Meetings

Seoul and Jeonnam have had a back and forth affair in the 2019 K League 2 season. Out of the four fixtures, they both shared an away win each, and two draws. The Leopard fans will have fond memories of Jeonnam last year. Their game in July 2019, was their first win in 14 games. This lead to a then four-game winning streak.

Choi Jong-hwan celebrates an injury-time draw against Jeonnam Dragons in the 2019 K League 2 season.

The last time the two sides met, was in September 2019, when Seoul were still playing in Cheonan. It took Seoul five minutes to open the scoring before Jeonnam equalized just after half time. Seoul did what they did best in 2019, and then let the game slip from them. Putting Jeonnam ahead. However, in the dying moments of the game, Choi Jong-hwan came through and saved Seoul a point. The draw only prolonged the inevitable of Seoul finishing last, as Daejeon had somewhat of a renaissance around this time.

Full Time: Seoul E-Land 2-2- Jeonnam Dragons

Team News

Seoul E-Land set up with a 4-2-3-1 on the weekend, with Kim Min-kyu, and Kim Tae-hyeon as the wingbacks. Chung Jung-young had to replace an injured Kim Min-kyu in the first half however, he may be a doubt in the Jeonnam game. Jeon Seok-hyun replaced him and had a decent game at the back. This shows that Seoul have a little bit more depth in their squad now. Leandro had an excellent game for the Leopards, he kept pushing the ball forward and causing problems to the Gyeongnam defence. Seoul looked a little bit sloppy in their two conceded goals on Sunday, the gaffer will hope to correct these poor defensive issues for the next game. Sukutu-Pasu held the ball well, and showed his presence up the top of the field. He has a lot of strength to fight off defenders, and feed the ball to other attacking forwards.

For Jeonnam, they will be without Lee Hu-kwon, who was shown his second yellow in the game against Jeju. They also have not revealed Brazilian Rodolfo to the K League. Jeonnam only went with two foreign players this time around. As Norwegian Kristofferson started in the Gyeongnam game and came on as a sub in the Jeju game. A team that may not have the attacking prowess to score a lot of goals throughout the year, Jeonnam looks more like a side who will rely on set pieces. A defensive side who will try to amount to as many clean sheets as possible.

The Adversary

Jeonnam will look to have a big season this year, after being relegated in 2018. The previous year was not kind to them, with a 6th place finish in the K League 2. They struggled more than they should have and were sitting third from bottom when Seoul E-Land beat them on that July evening. The result lead to the sacking of then manager, Fabiano. Since Kyeon Kyung-jun took charge, the Dragons have looked better.

Lee Hu-kwon will be suspended against Seoul E-Land in round three, after picking up two yellow cards against Jeju United

This will be a tough year for Jeonnam, with Jeju and Gyeongnam also looking to return to the top tier. They need to get points on the board and hit the ground running. They failed to do this last year, as they managed only nine points in their first ten games. Jeonnam looks more disciplined and tactically aware of what we have seen so far. Jeonnam will look to be the cat amongst the pigeons, as the table starts to take shape. 

Prediction

We still don't really know what to make of this Seoul E-Land side. They have been a lot better than the last two previous seasons, but fans do not want to get their hopes up. They have seen such poor football for so long, they find it hard to believe that it could be their time. However, Seoul does look like they are ready to make waves in the league. They look a completely new side, and they will have a point to prove.

Jeonnam Dragons will look to continue winning ways when they make the journey up to the capital. Both teams have played Gyeongnam and Jeju in the first two rounds. So it will be interesting to see how they face off with each other on Sunday. This game could be a lot tighter than the Gyeongnam game for Seoul, we probably won't see as many goals in this one.

Seoul E-Land 1-1 Jeonnam Dragons