K League title race heats up as Ulsan cling to lead following draw
K League title race heats up as Ulsan cling to lead following draw
Blog Article
The title race in the top Korean football league heated up over the weekend, with the two-time champions
Ulsan HD FC facing pressure from an unlikely source.
Ulsan settled for a 2-2 draw against FC Seoul in K League 1 action at Munsu Football Stadium in Ulsan,
some 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on Sunday. Ulsan now have 32 points through 17 matches from
nine wins, five draws and three losses.
Ulsan failed to preserve their 2-0 advantage after forward Joo Min-kyu scored in the opening minute and
FC Seoul defender Lee Tae-seok had an own goal in the 42nd minute.
Stanislav Iljutcenko led the visiting team's second-half comeback with a brace, ensuring the clubs would
each grab a 카지노사이트모음 point.
Despite the disappointing draw, Ulsan, trying to become only the third K League club to pull off a three-
peat, reclaimed their position atop the tables. They also ended a one-day reign at the top by Gangwon FC,
who had defeated Suwon FC 3-1 on Saturday to reach 31 points.
Gangwon have nine wins, four draws and four losses. They have now won five matches in a row for the
first time in seven years. Though they only spent one day in first place, Gangwon have never been at the
top this deep into a season.
Pohang Steelers and Gimcheon Sangmu FC remained within striking distance of Ulsan with 30 points
apiece, as Pohang took a 1-1 draw against last-place Daejeon Hana Citizen FC and Gimcheon fell to
Gwangju FC 2-0 on Saturday.
Pohang have managed just one win in their past six contests, while Gimcheon have two victories in that
span.
Suwon FC, despite winning four out of their last six, are in danger of joining the mushy middle ground,
alongside Gwangju FC, Incheon United and Jeju United.
FC Seoul, with the hard-fought point against Ulsan, are one point clear of the relegation zone at 18.
Daegu FC broke away from the two bottom feeders, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors and Daejeon, by beating
Jeju 1-0 on Sunday. Daegu now have 17 points, two ahead of the only two teams below them.
After a 2-2 draw with Incheon on Sunday, Jeonbuk remained winless in three matches under new head
coach Kim Do-heon. Jeonbuk and Daejeon each have a league-low 15 points, but Jeonbuk remain ahead
for now thanks to their tiebreak edge in goals scored, 21-16.
At the end of each K League 1 season, the last-place team will be directly relegated to the K League 2.
Teams finishing 10th and 11th must survive playoff matches against K League 2 contestants to stay in the
top competition for the following year.
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