Suwon survive late scare to advance in the Cup | OneFootball

inspired Suwon Samsung to reach the third round of the Korean Cup after an encouraging display against Seoul E-Land on Wednesday night.

Seoul E-Land (Pedrinho 87')

Maybe there is some life in this team, then. Following a series of insipid displays to open their season, Suwon are finally up-and-running after a promising performance against a much changed Seoul E-Land outfit at Big Bird. The match was goalless at the break but Byeon Seung-hwan's second half replacements changed the complexion and Suwon were far better after the break.

Suwon were celebrating their 500th game at this stadium since moving in in August 2001. It was extra important to add a victory to the occasion, especially since they arrived here near the foot of the table and without a win since the opening day of the season. Paulinho, the Brazilian playmaker who arrived last summer from Cheonan City, has been waiting to properly announce himself to the Suwon faithful. But he did on Wednesday with an outstanding goal to cap a man of the match performance.

New signing Stanislav Iljutcenko opened his Big Bird account with the opening goal half way through the second half. His goal, no more than five minutes after entering the match, brought relief to the team and supporters after a difficult start to the campaign. He could - and really should - have added a second late on but his chip over the prone goalkeeper from six yards dropped wide of the post.

Suwon can now enjoy a short break as the international fixtures take centre stage. They will be back here in 10 days' time when Jeonnam Dragons visit. This victory over Seoul E-Land means they'll be back in Korean Cup action next month away to Gimcheon Sangmu.

Under pressure Suwon manager Byeon Sung-hwan made a handful of alterations to his team held 0-0 by Chungnam Asan at the weekend. Four U-22 players, Kim Jeong-hun, Ko Jong-hyeon, Lee Geon-hee, and Kim Ji-ho were named in the starting 11 alongside Brazilian forward Paulinho, making his first start of 2025.

The midfield three was completely swapped after the disappointing performance on Saturday, so this meant a first start in 12 months for Park Sang-hyeok. An experienced bench including club captain Yang Hyeong-mo, Han Ho-gang, Iljutcenko, and Bruno Silva ensured there was sufficient firepower in case the game wasn't going Suwon's way.

Kim Do-kyun went even further, replacing 10 of his starting 11 that went down to Incheon United last time out. Cha Seung-hyeon was the only player to survive the cull, which probably highlighted exactly where E-Land's priorities fall this season. Chae Gwang-hoon captained the side from defense. He was one of only three players born in the 21st century in Seoul's starting line up.

The official line up card supplied by the Bluewings appeared to show Seoul in a more unorthodox 4-1-5 formation. With such a young and inexperienced side, I had my doubts but that's how they lined up in possession with Kim Hyeon-woo and Park Gyeong-bae hugging the sidelines. The visitors were comfortable playing out from the back and looked to stretch Suwon by opening up the whole pitch.

That tactic worked for the first 15 minutes then Suwon missed a sitter to open the scoring in front of the traveling support. Son Hyeok-chan was caught in possession on the edge of the box. Kim Ji-ho, making his first appearance of the year, intercepted Son and bore down on Kim Min-ho. The young striker panicked and with teammates unmarked to his left, he basically ran into the goalkeeper and the Bluewings faithful let out a collective groan.

Left back Lee Ki-jae, restored to the line up for the first time since his red card in Sungui Arena, was causing havoc with his pinpoint deliveries. However, as we've seen often this season - and for the past three years - Suwon just couldn't convert their opportunities. As the first half developed, the home team began to assert their superiority but as long as Seoul could hold on, the greater the frustration would grow inside the ground.

In a game with very little bite, Yoon Suk-joo picked up the first yellow for a cynical shirt pull on 37 minutes. Given Suwon had lost lost four straight to Seoul, I expected some more aggression, especially as they were welcoming Kim Do-kyun and his team to Big Bird. It was a defeat against Seoul, after all, which cost Yeom Ki-hun his job last May and ushered in the Byeon Sung-hwan era.

Unfortunately for Suwon, this was turning into another familiar tale. The men in blue dominated the ball but created very little of note. Under Byeon they have become painfully predictable and easy to defend against. Opposition teams are content with sitting deep in numbers, allowing Suwon to pass it without any great urgency or creativity, and then look to pounce on the counter attack.

When the half time whistle blew, there wasn't any reaction from the home crowd. It was a pleasure to escape the cold for a beer or cup ramen. Watching this team is getting harder and harder by the game.

I can only imagine Byeon heard my inner grumblings because whatever speech he gave at the break seemed to work. Park Seung-soo, the youngest player on show, was introduced at the break for Park Sang-hyeok. The 18-year-old moved to the left flank and immediately caused problems for the Seoul defense. One excursion led to Kwon Wan-kyu crossing for Kim Ji-hyeon to head off the foot of the post.

It was really important that the Bluewings kept their foot on the throats of their visitors but a rare Seoul attack moments later should have brought the game's opening goal. Kwon, the villain in Incheon earlier this month, made a spectacular overhead clearance kick on his line. Perhaps that forced Kim Do-kyun's hand because no sooner had Kwon cleared, the manager made two offensive changes, bringing on the duel Brazilian attack of Pedrinho and Italo.

Italo almost made an instant impact but his long range effort was tipped over by Kim Jeong-hun. Byeon then made a double change of his own. Former E-Land winger Bruno Silva joined Iljutcenko in making his cup debut for Suwon. And, unlike Italo, Iljutcenko's impact was immediate. The big German striker got on the end of a Hong Won-jin cross to put Suwon in front.

It was a very scrappy goal but Suwon had the lead their endeavors to that point had deserved. And given the importance of the day, it felt appropriate that new hero Iljutcenko was the man who had registered Suwon's goal on their 500th appearance in Big Bird.

Iljutcenko's importance to Suwon is undoubted however his teammates have almost become too reliant on him. There's a chronic lack of confidence in the Suwon attack when the former FC Seoul man isn't involved. And when he does play, his teammates look to find him instead of either going for goal themselves or finding a better option. On one such occasion, the dangerous Paulinho was in a great position to shoot but he looked to find Iljutcenko and a good chance went abegging.

But little did it matter. With 13 minutes to play, Paulinho reminded his team - and probably himself - of his undoubted quality with the Bluewings' best goal of the season. The Brazilian collected a pass 25 yards from goal and then unleashed an unstoppable curling effort over Kim Min-ho into the top right corner. It was a glorious finish from a player with genuine K League 2 quality, and one who Suwon need to return to his 2024 best.

With time running out, the Bluewings piled on the pressure. Iljutcenko, Park Seung-soo, and Paulinho all had chances to stretch the lead to three. Paulinho was replaced with four minutes to go, receiving the ovation he merited.

Rather incredibly, as Paulinho was collecting high 5s from the dugout, Seoul E-Land scored. A weird silence fell over Big Bird after Pedrinho's corner deceived everyone, including Kim Jeong-hoon, and floated straight into the top corner. I'm not sure if I've ever seen a player score directly from a corner before. And with that, it was game on!

The Bluewings hit the same spot on the same post as we entered added on time following a brilliant free kick from Lee Ki-jae. They needed that to drop the other side of the post because E-Land crafted a flurry of very late chances. Suwon were hanging on when they didn't need to. However, hang on they did. The contrast with the half time whistle couldn't have been more stark. The 500th game at this beautiful ground got the result and performance it deserved.

This 2-1 win marks Suwon's first ever victory over Seoul E-Land, and while it won't completely erase the nightmare performance in Mokdong earlier this month, Suwon will be right to savior it. Park Seung-soo made an immediate impact on the left wing, Iljutcenko grabbed his first at home, and Paulinho created his biggest contribution to the side.

But the victory will arguably mean more to manager Byeon than anyone else. After a poor opening 45, the under fire manager got his tactical and personnel changes spot on following his half time team talk. Despite Suwon's history in the competition, they will be go into the third round tie next month against Gimcheon Sangmu as underdogs. This allows the coach and his staff an opportunity to give it their best shot but knowing that bigger challenges are awaiting down the road.

Up next

Following the international break,Suwon will look to kickstart their promotion push when Jeonnam Dragons visit Big Bird on Saturday, March 29 at 14:00. The Dragons have started brightly under new manager Kim Hyeong-seok, who led Chungnam Asan to a second place finish in 2024. Last season, Suwon took seven points from a possible nine off Jeonnam, which included a 5-1 massacre almost a year to the day.

Seoul welcome their nearest rivals Bucheon FC 1995 to Mokdong 24 hours later. Bucheon are the surprising early pace-setters although their three wins have come against the weakest teams in the league from last year. They were beaten at home by Busan IPark in early March but responded with a comfortable 3-1 win over Ansan Greeners the following week. Seoul trail Bucheon by two points and will aim to end a run of four games without victory over their neighbors.