by Liam Birch at Daejeon World Cup Stadium
Daejeon Citizen slumped to a miserable home defeat this Saturday at the hands of FC Seoul which leaves them level on points with Daegu and Suwon at the foot of the K-League table.
It is looking increasingly likely that Daejeon will face a very difficult task if they are to improve on last years dismal effort. In ten games this season, Citizen have tasted victory only once and have scored a mere seven goals.
That statistic was never in danger of changing against a well organized Seoul side who look a good bet to challenge for honors this time around. In the blistering heat at Daejeon World Cup stadium, the hosts got off to a bright start. The influential Ko Chang Hyeon was back after suspension but other than that, Daejeon kept faith with the side that lost 1-0 at Jeju. That meant a starting place for the awful Park Sung-Ho, who after today's performance, must be at an all time low.
It was Park who helped create the first clear cut chance however. His awkward style bothered the Seoul defence and his jab-pass left created a great chance for Lee Gyeong Hwan, whose effort was saved well by the Seoul keeper. In truth, had he hit it anywhere but straight at the goalkeeper, Daejeon would have led. As it was, it was Seoul who were finding too much space down the Daejeon left, putting numerous dangerous balls into the box. It was no suprise then that the opening goal came from there. The Seoul forward skinned the Daejeon left back before being cynically brought down in the area. It was a stonewall penalty and there can be no complaints. Choi Eun-Song almost saved the resulting penalty but Dejan hit it low and hard to give the capital side a deserved lead.
After the break, Daejeon created numerous chances but not until the game was settled in excellent fashion by the brilliant Dejan. He picked the ball up on the Daejeon left before drilling an unstoppable effort into the bottom right corner on the hour mark. After that, Daejeon toiled hard but terrible finishing ensured that was the end of the scoring.
Park Sung Ho in particular must take much criticism for his glaring miss. Through on goal, he hesitated, allowing the Seoul defender to get back. Still, he managed to beat his man before, with the goal at his mercy, skying the ball way over the bar. It was an unbelievable miss, even from a man that has made that his forte. Later, Ko Chang Hyeon fired a vicious shot that the substitute Seoul keeper did well to turn over the bar.
Daejeon now have a month before their next K-League fixture and must be happy that the break has come. There are severe rumblings about the future of coach Kim Ho and this could further destabilize the club. If only we could play Daegu every week.....
MOM: Dejan (FC Seoul)
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