The 33rd round of the 2024 K League 1 regular league has ended. Although there are final rounds left for the top six teams (Group A) and the bottom six (Group B) to meet each other one more time, the championship and relegation teams are getting clearer and clearer. Among them, Gangwon FC, which is threatening the lead by creating a sensation, and Incheon United FC, which slipped to the bottom and is back in the race for survival, met in the 33rd round, and no one could yield.
The home team, Incheon United FC, was more cornered in Group B of the final round because it collapsed due to the exit of key defender Yonichi, and Gangwon FC shook off its recent five-game winless (two draws and three losses) and followed the leader Ulsan HD by six points, saving the spark of hope for a victory.
Gangwon FC, led by head coach Yoon Jung-hwan, won 3-1 in an away game against Incheon United FC in the 2024 K League 1 at Incheon Football Stadium at 3 p.m. on the 6th, thanks to flagship wing striker Yang Min-hyuk’s one goal and one assist and second-half replacement member Lee Sang-hun’s two goals, and will be able to start the final round A group schedule in third place (16 wins, 7 draws and 10 losses).
Last place Incheon United won only 2 out of 16 home games
At 3 p.m. on a relatively cool Sunday, 14,434 soccer fans flocked to the Incheon Football Stadium. Eight minutes after the game began, Gangwon FC won a penalty kick and began to heat up earlier than expected. A low cross from national right fullback Hwang Moon-ki quickly drove the ball in and hit Incheon United midfielder Kim Do-hyuk’s right arm, and referee Kim Yong-woo made a firm decision after hearing the opinion of vice referee Yoon Jae-yeol.
At this golden opportunity, Gangwon FC new striker Kovacevic aimed to score with his right foot, but Incheon United FC goalkeeper Lee Bum-soo fired to his right side and hit it amazingly. Incheon United goalkeeper Lee Bum-soo’s super save also shone in the moment when Kovacevic kicked his right foot two minutes later. In the second half, Lee blocked Yang Min-hyuk’s right-footed counterattack diagonal shot (62 minutes), replacement member Gabriel’s right-footed shot (79 minutes), and Yang Min-hyuk’s right-footed shot (90+7 minutes) with extra time.
However, Incheon United FC’s defensive instability was beyond Lee Bum-soo’s control. When Yang Min-hyuk, who emerged as Gangwon FC’s ace player, scored a left-footed first goal at 33:56, the number of Incheon United defenders was much higher, but the home defenders couldn’t prepare themselves while they approached right in front of the goal based on a 2:1 pass with a manned goal.
Soon after the start of the second half, Incheon United FC collapsed on its own due to the bad news that leading center back Yonichi was sent off for making a dangerous tackle on Gangwon FC goaltender Kovacevic.
Although Hong Si-hoo scored the equalizer with a set piece of a free kick on the left side at 72 minutes and 12 seconds, Yonichi’s vacancy was inevitably large. At 85 minutes and 8 seconds, Yang Min-hyuk’s counterattack dribble hit the winning goal. Choi Woo-jin’s free-kick mistake immediately led to Gangwon FC’s counterattack, and Lee Sang-hun, a replacement member who received Yang Min-hyuk’s perfect line-breaking through pass, even beat Incheon United goalkeeper Lee Bum-soo and rolled his left-footed shot into the empty goal.
At 1:08 of extra time in the second half, Incheon United poorly defended its set-piece corner kick, and suffered a disappointing net goal and collapsed. Lee Sang-hun’s two goals made the competition to become the top scorer even more interesting. He thus trailed Ilyuchenko (FC Seoul) and Mugosa (Incheon United FC), who scored 14 goals.
Gangwon FC (16 wins, 7 draws and 10 losses), which had been believed to have failed to win in the last five games and was pushed back to the mid-range, can be said to have set a record of winning three games against a specific team by one point. In addition to already earning three wins (nine points and five points) against Jeonbuk Hyundai, it has brought a more overwhelming margin (eight points and two points) against Incheon United FC.
On the other hand, the last-place Incheon United FC had such a poor home game record this season that it rarely appeared in front of its home fans. It has won two, drawn five, and lost nine out of 16 regular league home games, so the current ranking table cannot be denied.
Incheon United has won only 11 points in this season’s home game, which is almost identical to the final Group B ranking table when compared with 22 points from Daegu FC (5 wins, 7 draws, 5 losses), 22 points from Jeonbuk Hyundai (5 wins, 7 draws, 4 losses), and 23 points from Daejeon Hana Citizen (6 wins, 5 draws, 6 losses). So far, only three teams (Ulsan HD 12 wins, Gimcheon Sangmu 10 wins, and Jeju United 10 wins) have won more than 10 home games. 스포츠토토
Now, after the A-match break, K League 1 will have a one-wood bridge schedule of five games each for Group A (Ulsan HD, Gimcheon Sangmu, Gangwon FC, Pohang Steelers, FC Seoul, Suwon FC), Group B (Gwangju FC, Jeju United, Daegu FC, Jeonbuk Hyundai, Daejeon Hana Citizen, and Incheon United FC).