Match of the Round
Jeonnam Dragons vs. Seoul E-Land, Sun. 28th July - 19:00
Two of the division's playoff contenders collide this Sunday when Jeonnam Dragons in second host Seoul E-Land in fourth. Jeonnam came back from behind in midweek to earn a 2-1 away win over Seongnam FC with Ha Nam bagging a late, late winner. The win kept the Dragons in the hunt for automatic promotion. Seoul E-Land, meanwhile, were away to Gimpo FC in midweek and earned a resounding 5-2 win, a win was essential as the Leopards had momentarily fallen out of the top five. Yet more goals scored, and another match where the Leopards had scored three or more - for the eighth time this season too no less - means Kim Do-kyun's men are on 45 goals scored for the campaign, five more than their nearest competitor. As luck would have it, that team is their opponents this Sunday, Jeonnam Dragons.
Sunday's clash, then, ought to be a high-scoring affair, or certainly one with plenty of attempts on goal. Seoul E-Land sit third in K League 2 for total shots, Jeonnam are seventh but move up a spot when it comes to accuracy - 40.4%. Seoul E-Land are third in that regard too at 41.8%. Seoul E-Land's Bruno Silva tops the league's combined goals and assists shart with 14 while Kim Jong-min is third with 12. In terms of total attempts on goal, Bruno Silva is third while Na Nam is fifth for headed shots.
The first meeting of 2024 ended in a 2-1 win for Jeonnam Dragons. Last year's record was dead even with one win each and one draw.
Team of the Round
Cheonan City (vs. Gyeongnam FC, Sun. 28th July - 19:00)
After a momentous and dramatic 3-2 win over Seoul E-Land in Round 23, Cheonan City sat out Round 24. It was Kim Tae-wan's side's first win in five and kept them above the bottom three teams in the division. The win was sealed thanks to a brace from Jang Seong-jae and a Bruno Mota strike after Seoul E-Land goalkeeper Yoon Bo-sang had gifted Cheonan with the game's opener. The task at hand for Cheonan now is to do something that they've only done once before this season, and that's earn back-to-back wins. In the win over Seoul E-Land, Cheonan landed five of their total eight shots on target. The best chance of the match, the chance that was given the highest xG value, fell to Bruno Mota on 76 minutes at 0.53 which he duly converted, followed by Kim Ryun-do after just three minutes at 0.36. Jang Seong-jae's goals were just 0.11 and the long-range screamer was 0.02. On Sunday, they face a Gyeongnam FC side that lost in midweek and sits one place and three points below them in the table.
Player of the Round
Lee Gyu-dong, Suwon Samsung Bluewings (vs. Gimpo FC, Mon. 29th July - 19:30)
Bagging two goals in three appearances for the Bluewings signals a very positive start to life on loan from Jeonbuk for Lee Gyu-dong. In what was his first and only start so far, Lee's goal in the 67th minute of Suwon's Round 24 away win over Bucheon on Tuesday put the cherry on the cake and put the result beyond doubt, making it 3-0 following a brace from Kim Ji-ho. His first goal for the Bluewings was the equaliser in an eventual 2-1 win over Cheonan City. The 20-year-old then supplied an assist for Kim Sang-jun's winner in the 92nd minute. These three goal contributions are his first in K League, having previously only scored and assisted for Jeonbuk's B team in K4. A run of six without defeat, helped in part by Lee Gyu-dong's contributions, have moved Suwon up into the playoff reckoning. Up next is Monday night's trip to Gimpo FC.
K League 2 Table
K League 2 Round 25 Fixtures
Saturday 27th July
#ANYvCAFC: FC Anyang (1st) vs. Chungnam Asan (3rd) - 19:00
#SFCvBUC: Seongnam FC (12th) vs. Bucheon FC 1995 (8th) - 19:30
Sunday 28th July
#JDFCvSEFC: Jeonnam Dragons (2nd) vs. Seoul E-Land (4th) - 19:00
#GYEvCCFC: Gyeongnam FC (11th) vs. Cheonan City (10th) - 19:00
Monday 29th July
#GFCvSSB: Gimpo FC (7th) vs. Suwon Samsung Bluewings (5th) - 19:30
#BUSvCHFC: Busan IPark (6th) vs. Chungbuk Cheongju (9th) - 19:30
