Gwangju's first win at new home imminent?

 

Two home games inside four days provides Gwangju with their best opportunity yet to break their home hoodoo as Incheon United and Suwon FC come to town. Yet to win at their new ground, Kim Ho-young's side have not won a K League home game since beating Incheon 2-1 in June at their old stadium.

Why haven't they broken their duck at home?

No home league win for close to 300 days is a dismal record for any long-suffering Gwangju fan to endure. However, that does come with the precedent of an impressive top-six finish which brought some difficult post-split fixtures in Final Round A. The frugal run of a winless 11 games has seen Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, Daegu FC and Sangju Sangmu all visit twice plus defeats to Ulsan Hyundai and Pohang Steelers. While Gwangju fans may worry about the direction of the team on the pitch, their off field grievances have been stronger with some supporters concerned about the safety of the temporary stands, which are re-constructed between games.

Gwangju fans queue for tickets against Ulsan Hyundai

Most alarming to Kim Ho-young will be Gwangu's habit of putting in adequate performances but failing to find the target in their last five home games and losing four of those by a 1-0 score line. Their last outing against Jeonbuk (0-2) encapsulated this perfectly as the Yellows looked the most threatening in the first half, only to succumb to a cheap set-piece and an unfortunate own goal. Looking at the xG (Expected Goals) for Gwangju since their last point at home (3-3 vs Jeonbuk in September), the Griffin's boast an average of 0.79 at home compared to 1.07 away. While they mustered an impressive 24 combined shots against title hopefuls Jeonbuk and Ulsan in their last two home games, they only found the target with six of those.

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Gwangju's best hopes

There were worrying signs after being taught a lesson by both Suwon Samsung Bluewings and Ulsan in their opening two fixtures. However, the 4-1 win at Daegu has encouraged improved performances even if results have not followed. 

Talisman Felipe marked his return to the starting line-up with a goal at Jeju and Gwangju fans will have been greatly encouraged by his 87-minute long performance even if the Brazilian did suffer a late injury. Attacking options have also been bolstered by the arrival of Isnairo Reis Silva Morais, capable of operating on both wings, while fellow new signing Aleksandar Andrejević provides some depth at centre back. Both have joined with team training following their quarantine, with Reis being welcomed by former teammate Felipe, who he shared a dressing room with at Vila Nova FC.

22-year-old Eom has once again been a key figure this season

Unfortunately for Gwangju and the player himself, Eom Won-sang is a doubt after picking up a knock (ligament damage) against Jeju United last time out, forcing him to withdraw from the Korean National Team squad that lost to Japan last week. 

Statistical Changes

Park Jin-sub honours his replacement at Gwangju Kim Ho-young

Since Kim Ho-young took the reigns and exclaimed that Gwangju football would be different under his leadership, the Yellows performances have been inconsistent. However, there are some common themes to pick out from his six games in charge to try and build a picture of his managerial plan.

While the compilation of stats from the fledgling 2021 season is of a comparatively small sample size, their average shots on target per game, possession, xG, percentage of duels won, passes and pass accuracy have all gone down compared to 2020 under Park Jin-sub.  

There are some positives to take with Gwangju's shot accuracy, recovery rate and interceptions all increasing this season. The last two in particular show that the Yellows have got in the faces of their opponents and pressed more successfully this term. However, their passing is certainly letting them down, perhaps feeling the effects of losing Yeo Reum and Willyan in midfield. The accuracy of passes to the final third has dropped by 8% and the number of offsides has increased.