Seoul forced to settle for a point after dominating Jeonnam | OneFootball

Bruno's last-minute equalizer saved Jeonnam Dragons on a night when the home team were comfortably outplayed by Seoul E-Land at a raucous Gwangyang Stadium. Seoul passed up several good chances throughout the 90 minutes but still showed enough to be considered genuine title contenders.

Jeonnam Dragons 2 (Seo Jae-min 15', Byeon Gyeong-jin 51')

Seoul E-Land FC 2 (Im Chan-wool 46', Bruno 88')

Jeonnam Dragons twice came from behind to rescue a point against Seoul E-Land on Sunday night. Second-half substitute Bruno's last-minute shot saved the home defeat from near-certain - and deserved - defeat but the result means the Dragons have now slipped four points behind leaders FC Anyang in the table.

Seoul E-Land were, for the most part, excellent and they'll definitely play worse than this and still win games throughout the season. Spanish midfielder Osmar blamed the result on "a lack of concentration" and he conceded the two-week break might hinder his side's playoff chances because of how they responded to the last big break.

It is without exaggeration to say Seoul could have scored five here. The man of the match, Jeonnam's keeper Ryu Won-woo, had the game of his season to keep his beleaguered team in the match. In fairness to both teams, in very difficult conditions, this was a match of real quality.

Before the game, Jeonnam Dragons manager Lee Jang-kwan told K League United that this clash, between two genuine K League contenders on an otherwise unglamorous weekend across the country, was a great opportunity for “both teams to show the quality they have. Everyone talks about K League 1 but we have some very technical players in K League 2. I am very proud of the players in our league.”

And the game certainly didn't disappoint the 3,500 in attendance and whoever watched on TV, There were two world-class saves, a couple of great finishes, and the level of endeavor expected from title challenges.

Seoul E-Land wore their traditional home kit for this fixture but started with a more unusual lineup. Japanese midfielder Kozuka Kazuki was deployed in a central attacking role, with new man John Montano and Lee Dong-ryul on either side of him. The last time I saw Kazuki in this position, Suwon Bluewings lost 1-0 to Cheonan City and began the great decline under Yeom Ki-hun.

Meanwhile, Jeonnam wore an outstanding green, white, and orange kit. It looked like a classic USA ’94 era jersey complete with unusual strips and confusing patterns. Aside from the interior of the stadium, Jeonnam’s alternate kit was the most beautiful thing on display.

In the opening quarter, Seoul looked like the team in second spot batting for automatic promotion. They had two great chances to open the scoring in the opening 10 minutes; First, a header off the bar when the goalkeeper was soundly beaten, then Montano saw his one-on-one chance brilliantly saved by Ryu Won-woo. The Colombian should have scored but it was superb goalkeeping nonetheless.

Lee Jang-kwan told reporters pre-game that the most important thing for his team was to keep Seoul out in the opening 45 and then they could exert their physical style in the second half. That lasted all of 15 minutes. Good build-up down the right saw Seo Jae-min teed up and he expertly swept a right-footed shot into the top corner. Oddly, the goal was initially ruled out for offside but after a short check, Seo was rewarded with his second of the season.

Seoul E-Land celebrate their opening goal.

Seo Jae-min had a great chance to double his side’s lead after the water break, but his shot from the edge of the area just sailed wide. At the other end, perhaps due to the absence of star names, Jeonnam struggled badly to create any clear-cut chances. That was until Ha Nam chested down a cross from the right, and volleyed it first time. It was always going over the bar but Moon Jeong-min didn’t know that. An exceptional piece of skill from a top striker in this league, and Jeonnam’s first chance of note.

Both sides then traded half-chances as the half entered the final five minutes. Off in the distance, behind the smoke billowing from the POSCO steel works the sky had turned purple. Sometimes there’s nowhere more beautiful in the world than a summer K League 2 fixture.

Jeonnam and Seoul is a fixture dominated by draws but only Seoul will know how the points weren’t wrapped up in the opening half. Montano again brought another superb save from Ryu in goal and from the resulting corner, a free header at the near post almost sneaked in for a second. The Dragons held on for a scarcely deserved 1-goal deficit.

Jeonnam made two chances at the break but manager Lee could hardly believe the turnaround would be this immediate. Within 60 seconds of the restart, Im Chan-wool pulled the home team level. The 30-year-old, now in his fifth season in Gwangyang, chipped Moon to give his side a goal they barely deserved. Seoul will be furious by the concession for two reasons; firstly, to give up a goal after one minute is criminal, but it came from nothing. Half-time substitute Park Tae-yong's simple through ball ripped the visiting defense apart for Im to finish.

Jeonnam, in the beautiful kit, celebrate their equalizer.

Any danger Seoul would be reeling from the concession was quickly extinguished. On 50 minutes, another second-half change, Byeon Gyung-jin, put the visitors back in front. From a corner, the ball wasn’t cleared properly and Byeon had the simple task of slamming home from three yards. Order and balance restored. That was the forward’s sixth of 2024 and two minutes later, Byeon sliced his close range shot over the bar. It is far from an exaggeration to say Seoul should have five by now.

On 68 minutes, Lee Dong-ryul's last involvement was to miss another fine opportunity. The forward was played in down the left but with only the keeper to beat, he scuffed his weak shot wide. Lee lay motionless on the turf as his number was raised for substitution. Ryu, in the home goal, then pulled off the save of the match. Kazuka collected a loose pass and attempted to chip the goalkeeper from 40 yards. Ryu, back peddling, somehow got a strong right hand on it to push it wide of the post.

From the corner, Osmar headed on target. The question, with 20 minutes still to play, was if Seoul would pay the price for all these misses, especially with Ha Nam still on the field.

Byeon Gyeong-jin with his side's second.

Ryu Won-woo was producing an exceptional display in goals for Jeonnam Dragons and he let his feelings known to his teammates on 80 minutes after pulling off another sensational save, this time from Byeon. The big man spread himself to block from close range what looked like a certain and deciding goal. Ryu was the worthy recipient of the Man of the Match award here.

On 88 minutes, Bruno equalized against the run of play. Cho Jae-hun, another second-half replacement, fired a ball across the six-yard box for the unmarked Bruno to drill home. Jeonnam quickly retrieved the ball and sprinted to half-way. Seoul looked dejected. All those missed opportunities had indeed come back to haunt them.

Both sides had chances in the frantic last six minutes but in the end, they settled for a point. It was a great game but it didn't get the winner it deserved.

Line ups

Jeonnam Dragons: (51) Ryu Won-woo; (3) Kim Ye-sung, (15) Mukhammadali, (25) Cho Ji-hun, (26) Kim Dong-wook; (35) Choe Won-cheol; (7) Im Chan-wool, (37) Kim Geon-oh, (8) No Geon-woo, (27) Yoon Jae-seok; (9) Ha Nam.

Substitutes: (20) Cho Seong-bin, (38) Hong Seok-hyeon, (50) Kim Jong-pil, (66) Lee Kyu-hyeok, (28) Cho Jae-hun, (88) Park Tae-yong.

Seoul E-Land FC:

(23) Moon Jung-in; (21) Park Min-seo, (4) Lee In-jae, (20) Kim Oh-kyu, (22) Cah Seung-hyeon; (30) Park Chang-hwan, (15) Seo Jae-min, (5) Osmar Ibanez; (81) Kozuka Kazuki (9) John Montano (99) Lee Dong-ryul.

Substitutes: (1) Eum Yae-hoon, (3) Kim Min-kyu, Baek Ji-ung, (16) Byeon Gyeong-jun (19) Cho Young-kwang, (88) Lee Jun-suk (31) Jeong Jae-min. (27) Jo Dong-jae (14) Kim Young-wook

The fans

The distance from Mokdong Stadium, Seoul's temporary home, to Gwangyang is 343 km. This is one of the longest away trips in Korean football. The Leopards brought a crowd of around 200 with them and they made plenty of noise throughout. The late concession will make for a bitter journey home I feel.

The official attendance of 3,543 looked smaller than I had anticipated and an edgy home display led to a quiet support, with the exception being the noisy element to the left. That all changed after Bruno's 89-minute goal and after, the old ground was rocked to its very foundations. But Seoul won the noise battle over 90 minutes.

After a week off,Seoul E-Land return to Mokdong to face Busn IPark, firmly back in the playoff picture following Cho Sung-hwan's installment as club manager. Seoul shocked the league by destroying Busan 3-0 in Asiad on the season's opening weekend. Kim Do-kyun, the home manager, has fond memories of facing Busan IPark following last season's dramatic survival act as manager of Suwon FC.

Jeonnam Dragons resume league action a day after Seoul when they make the trip north to face Cheonan City FC. Jeonnam won the corresponding fixture 1-0 in March and after facing Cheonan three times in Gwangyang in a row, this will be their first visit to Baekseok since March 2023, when they secured a 3-1 win. Maintaining a promotion campaign depends on winning in tough places like Cheonan.

Best player: Ryu Won-wooAttendance: 3,543