Professional soccer K League 2 (2nd Division) leader Gimcheon Commerce failed to regain the top spot after conceding a late goal and missing out on a win.
Gimcheon conceded an equalizer in the 41st minute to draw 1-1 with Gyeongnam FC in the 38th round of the Hana OneQ K League 2 at the Changwon Football Center on Nov. 11.
Gimcheon fell to 21 points (5 wins, 9 draws), failing to surpass Busan I-Park (68 points), which has played one game less.
This gives Busan a chance to clinch the title 12 days early. If Busan wins its away match against the Jeonnam Dragons, it will clinch the title with one game remaining. The winner of the K League 2 will be promoted next season without a playoff.
With 14 wins, 12 draws and nine losses (54‧53 points), Gyeongnam moved into fourth place, ahead of Bucheon FC (54‧41 points) on goal difference. In K League 2, the fourth- and fifth-place teams will play a semi-playoff, with the winner playing the third-place team. The winner of the playoffs will play a relegation playoff against the 10th-place team in K League 1.
Gimcheon, who needed a win to win the league title, and Gyeongnam, who wanted to qualify for the relegation playoffs, played a tight game for the first 45 minutes.
At 0-0, Gimcheon took the lead nine minutes into the second half. Lee Young-joon, one of the main players in the U20 World Cup quarterfinals, received a pass from Kim Jin-gyu and beat two defenders to score.
Desperate for a point, Gyeongnam fought back and managed to equalize in the 41st minute of the second half. Park Min-seo struck the ball backwards from a corner kick with his left foot to tie the game at one.
Both teams increased their offense in the remaining time for the win, but were unable to score any more goals and shared the points.
Newcomers Chungbuk Cheongju won the final Chungcheong derby of the season 1-0 against Chungnam Asan FC at Cheongju Stadium. 토토사이트
With the win, Cheongju moves to 13 wins, 12 draws, and 10 losses (51 points), good for sixth place. Asan remained in 10th place with 12 wins, 6 draws, and 18 losses (42 points).
The game, which was tied at 0-0, tilted in Cheongju’s favor in the 20th minute. On a corner kick, the ball was cleared by the Asan defense and headed to the front of the penalty area, where Yang Ji-hoon pounced and fired a mid-range shot for the game-winning goal.
Seongnam FC scored back-to-back goals from Shin Jae-won and Park Ji-won to earn a 2-0 victory away to Seoul Eland FC. Seongnam is in ninth place with 11 wins, 11 draws and 13 losses (44 points), while Seoul Eland is in 11th place with 10 wins, 5 draws and 20 losses (35 points).