Gimpo batter Asan in near-perfect performance

Luis Mina scored two and handed over the opportunity to net a hat-trick as Gimpo flexed their promotion muscles with a thrilling destruction of Chungnam Asan on Saturday evening. In a bad-tempered match, Asan ended with 10 men following Kang Jun-hyeok's dreadful late tackle.

Gimpo FC 3 (Lark Gyeong-rok 10', Luis Mina 13' and 51')

Chungnam Asan 0

Gimpo FC are firmly back in the playoff hunt after this complete hammering of title challengers Chungnam Asan in Solteo. The only blot on an otherwise perfect evening for Gimpo was Bruno's late penalty miss when Luis Mina spurned the opportunity to score a deserved hat trick by selflessly handing the ball to his teammate.

Bruno had an otherwise excellent game, as did his forward partners in crime, Luis Mina and Leonard Pllana. Bruno's header from a Pllana free kick set up the first. Three minutes later, Luis Mina planted a penalty to effectively put the game beyond Asan with 13 minutes played.

Pllana and Mina then linked for a sensational third early in the second half. The Kosovan was allowed to run a long way before finding the unmarked Mina in the box. Mina took one touch to settle and then fired an unstoppable shot into the corner.

Gimpo travel to managerless Cheongju next, knowing they need to keep collecting wins to remain in the playoff picture. 

Chungnam Asan would have gone top with a win here tonight but apart from a bright start, they were comprehensively outplayed by their hosts. No matter what happens from here on in, 2024 has been a massive success for the small club from the midlands. This defeat isn't terminal, especially given Anyang's form in the last week. But without a home game to play before the end of 2024, it is hard to see them maintaining their title challenge.

[LISTEN: Leonard Pllana Interview]

Since the creation of the club, back in 2020, Chungnam Asan have yet to finish higher than sixth. That season they won a club-best 13 games. They were on 14 before today’s match and heavily involved in a surprising championship battle. When the referee blew his whistle to start Saturday’s game, Asan knew a win would elevate them to the top of the table, before Anyang’s trip to Yongin. Such has been the remarkable success of their season, even a defeat would not be fatal.

Gimpo, for their part, have endured a season like no other. After beginning the opening three months on the road due to redevelopments at their modest, football-specific ground in Solteo, their playoff hopes took a dramatic nose-dive following a string of poor results over the summer. But as we know in K League 2, a run of matches (in their case, 3) without defeat, can suddenly propel a club back into the play-off race. 

Wearing their stunning red and black kit, Gimpo got the game underway under the gorgeous blue skies of early autumn. And they nearly conceded after 20 seconds when Dennison flashed a shot wide. Within a minute, Juninho did the same thing, but from the left side of the box. Asan’s tails were up, and Gimpo needed to settle quickly.

And boy did they settle. 10 minutes in, Park Gyeong-rok stole in at the back post to head home his third goal of the season. Leonard Pllana’s free-kick was headed into the danger area by Bruno. It took a slight knick off fellow center back Lee Yong-hyeok, landing perfectly onto Park’s head. The big defender couldn’t miss and Gimpo had an early lead.

Moments later, it was 2-0. A rash tackle inside the box led to the game's first of two penalty kicks. Luis Mina’s run-up was slow, looking to deceive the keeper, before eventually planting his 13th of the season to the goalkeeper’s left. 

Things only got worse for Asan, as their brilliant former Gimpo forward Juninho was stretchered off on 25 minutes. The Brazilian lay motionless on the stretcher at the side of the pitch as the ambulance was prepared to take him away to the nearest hospital. A sight no football fan wants to see.

Recently, a hot topic of conversation in Korea has been the state of the pitches. Solteo looks in slightly better shape than most, apart from the middle of the pitch, and the right-end corner area. It is hard to enjoy a good game of football when the ball takes several bobbles before finding its target.

Without their talisman up front, Asan really struggled to make any impact after a bright opening five minutes. Gimpo, on the other hand, had several half chances to extend their lead. Bruno, the less heralded of their brilliant attacking front three, was the best player in the opening half, playing in a more central role with Pllana and Luis Mina outside him. But despite an additional eight minutes, no more chances came and Gimpo were full value for their half-time lead.

[READ: Tedious Suwon held back by familiar failings]

Six minutes after the break, Pllana and Luis combined for a goal of absolute brilliance. The Kosovan, quiet by his high standards in the opening 45, collected the ball 30 yards from goal. He just ran and ran at the Asan defense and instead of taking on the shot himself, he teed up his teammates. The Colombian took one touch to free himself of his marker and smashed home his second of the game. 

The fans cheered for Luis Mina but when Pllana is in this form, there is no better player in K League 2.

From that point on, the game came close to descending into chaos on numerous occasions. Several bad challenges brought cards and at one point, the referee was confronted by half a dozen Asan players after awarding a free kick against them. With 18 minutes to go, it seemed only a matter of time before a red was issued.

Asan, to their credit, toiled for a consolation goal. They had just shy of 70% of the possession, and yet faced a rampaging Gimpo side three goals up. But the majority of their efforts were from long range and never threatened Son Jeong-hyeon in goals.

Luis Mina then won his side's second penalty with six minutes to play after taking a tumble in the area. The referee initially signaled play on but after a short VAR review, a penalty was given. Interestingly, the Colombian didn't take the kick. Instead, he handed the ball to his teammate Bruno, who saw his soft kick saved.

The pre-kick high-fives looked a bit silly after the event but it was an amusing moment. 4-0 would have been unbelievably harsh on Asan, too.

Harsh is not the word you'd use to describe Kang Jun-hyeok's red card in added-on time. The Asan captain completely lost his head with an appalling studs-up tackle in front of his supporters. Weirdly, the #99 protested the call but it was a red card all day long. And, in the context of the game, unsurprisingly it was an Asan player sent off.

With camera lights flashing all around, the referee brought an end to a good, if bad-tempered match. Three goals, a missed penalty, a red card, and a Luis Mina special.

Great entertainment for a Saturday night.

[LISTEN: Final B podcast]

Line ups

Gimpo FC: 31. Son Jeong-hyeon; 3. Park Kyeong-rok, 77. Connor Chapman, 4. Lee Yong-hyeok; 36. An Jae-min,  23. Choi Jae-hoon(c), 10. Bruno, 7. Jang Yoon-ho, 16. Im Jun-woo; 24. Luiz, 11. Leonard Pllana.

Substitutes: 1. Lee Sang-uk, 15. Seo Bo-min, 22. Kim Chae-un, 14. Heo Dong-ho, 17. Jae Gal Jae-min,  5. Jeong Han-cheol, 26. Lee Gang-yeon.

Chungnam Asan: 18. Shin Song-hoon; 47. Lee Eun-beom, 6. Choi Hee-won, 2. Park Jong-min; 5. Hwang Ji-uk 17. Kim Ju-seong, 8. Choi Chi-won, 99. Kang Jun-hyeok (c); 7. Dennison, 11. Juninho, 22. Park Dae-hoon.

Substitutes: 26. Lee Yong-chan, 3. Jang Jun-yong, 20. An Yong-woo, 24. Park Sae-jik, 9. Kang Min-kyu, 15. Jose, 14. Lee Hak-min, 24. Park Sae-jik.

The fans

Helped by a nice kick-off time and sensational October weather, 2,854 paid through the gates at Solteo this afternoon. Gimpo's decision to renovate their ground and add an extra 12 rows to the grandstand looks, for the first time since I've seen them, completely vindicated. The main attraction was the group of 60 or so red-clad young men in Marine Corps fatigues leading the cheering under the TV.

In truth, I had expected a bigger following from Chungnam Asan. A victory here would have pushed them top but it is worth remembering how obscure a destination Gimpo FC is. Despite living in the same province as the club, my home is closer to Asan's in a different province. Still, they brought their drums and made plenty of noise.

Up next

Gimpo FC have two more games to pay this month. After the international break, they travel south to face Chungbuk Cheongju before the seasonal showpiece fixture against Suwon Samsung. Promotion chances probably require six points from six in those games.

Chungnam Asan, meanwhile, have three more games to play this month, all away from home. October is a terrible month and will really test their championship credentials. Once the internationals are over, Asan head to Tancheon to face Seongnam FC. That should be three points. But then they visit Seoul E-Land and Suwon Samsung in the space of three days. Not ideal.

Best player: Luis Mina
Attendance: 2,854

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