2024 Hana Bank K League 2 Round 23 Preview.
Match of the Round
Jeonnam Dragons (2nd) vs. Busan IPark (9th) - Sat. 20th July, 19:00
A win for Jeonnam Dragons this Saturday could move them top of the table, albeit for 24 hours with current league leaders FC Anyang not in action until Sunday. Psychologically, as the Dragons look to seal a long-awaited return to the top flight, reaching the K League 2 summit could be massive. They face a Busan IPark side that has just appointed Jo Sung-hwan as the new manager and one that beat the league leaders last time out. Busan are now just four points off the playoff spots and tend to fair better on the road than they do at home - six of their seven wins have been earned away. But Jeonnam will prove to be a tough nut to crack even for the best sides in the division. Lee Jang-kwan's men have won their last three on the spin and are unbeaten in 11 with eight wins.
Jeonnam have plenty of attacking talent in their ranks with Kim Jong-min on nine goals and two assists for the campaign, Ha Nam on seven goals, and last year's MVP Valdivia on six goals and four assists. Busan, meanwhile, tend to lean on their two Brazilian stars. Bruno Lamas has six goals and four assists while Fessin has four of each. Busan sit second for total shots dispatched but slip to sixth for their 40% accuracy. Jeonnam are fourth for accuracy with 41% but seventh in terms of the number of shots. Busan tend to have a lot of touches in the box and sit fourth in K League 2 in that regard while Jeonnam are fourth-bottom. Busan make a lot of deep completions, too, sitting second while Jeonnam are sixth. Jeonnam. Leading Jeonnam's goal chart is Kim Jong-min, he scored the game's only goal when the two sides met earlier in the campaign when the Dragons emerged winners 1-0 at the Asiad.
This is a match-up between two big clubs, clubs that have spent most of their lives in K League 1 and winning or challenging for trophies. Jeonnam have won four FA Cups, most recently in 2021, and Busan have four K League 1 titles to boost of, not to mention an FA Cup and three League Cups.
Team of the Round
Seoul E-Land (vs. Cheonan City, Sun. 21st July - 19:00)
Back-to-back wins for Seoul E-Land move them up to third in the table. The most recent victory, 3-1 at home to Seongnam, was sealed thanks to late goals by Kim Gyeol and Osmar, netting on 89 and 94 minutes respectively. Another positive was the two assists provided by Kazuki Kozuka, a recent recruit from Suwon Bluewings. The Japanese now has three assists to his name for the Leopards and his second assist against Seongnam teed up Osmar for his third of the campaign. But, with a tightly contested playoff race, with just three points separating third to eighth, Kim Do-kyun and his time can ill afford to rest on their laurels. Seoul E-Land are the league's freest-scoring team having bagged 37 for the campaign so far and are third for total shots at 261. Up next is Cheonan City at home, a side that's on a run of four without a win and on a run of back-to-back losses. The first meeting between the two teams this season ended as a resounding 4-0 Seoul E-Land win thanks to a brace from Ikoba and goals from Lee Dong-ryul and Bruno Silva.
Player of the Round
Park Dong-jin, Gyeongnam FC (vs. Bucheon FC 1995, Sat. 20th July - 19:00)
It didn't take long for Park Dong-jin to get off the mark in a Gyeongnam FC shirt. The 29-year-old, who joined the Roses on loan from FC Seoul, notched 17 minutes into his debut to draw Gyeongnam level away to Seongnam FC. The goal proved to be a platform for Park Dong-hyuk's men to build from, eventually going on to seal a 4-1 win - their first victory in eight in all competitions. Park Dong-jin played the full 90 minutes against Seongnam, something he hasn't done too often this season, just twice in fact. He had four attempts on goal, three of which found the target for an xG of 0.92. He showed 79% passing accuracy, made two successful dribbles, won 63% of his duels, and made one key pass. Having had the last round off, Park and Gyeongnam now have Bucheon in their crosshairs. A win could ease Gyeongnam closer to the playoff race or would at least serve as a base to finish the season strongly.
K League 2 Table
K League 2 Round 23 Fixtures
Saturday 20th July
#GYEvBUC: Gyeongnam FC (11th) vs. Bucheon FC 1995 (7th) - 19:00
#JDFCvBUS: Jeonnam Dragons (2nd) vs. Busan IPark (9th) - 19:00
#SSBvCHFC: Suwon Samsung Bluewings (6th) vs. Chungbuk Cheongju (8th) - 19:30
Sunday 21st July
#SEFCvCCFC: Seoul E-Land (3rd) vs. Cheonan City (10th) - 19:00
#GFCvANY: Gimpo FC (5th) vs. FC Anyang (1st) - 19:00
#CAFCvANS: Chungnam Asan (4th) vs. Ansan Greeners (13th) - 19:00
