Tuesday 28 July 2009

Daejeon Sign New Brazilian Midfielder

by Liam Birch

Daejeon Citizen have today announced the new signing of Brazilian midfielder Alexandre.












The former Figueirense man is expected to make his debut against Daegu on Saturday.

Bore Draw as Gyeongnam hold Daejeon

by Liam Birch at Daejeon World Cup Stadium

An incredibly frustrating game ended in a goalless draw as Gyeongnam held Daejeon at home this last Saturday. In one of the worst games in the history of football, neither side created anything of note in what was a truly dire affair.

Temporary coach Wang gave a first start to Serbian forward Racic, who partnered Park Sung-Ho in the Daejeon attack. This move clearly backfired however, as both players struggled with lack of pace and creative flair.

Daejeon are still without Valber and Ko Chang Hyeon, and it is no coincidence that Citizen have failed to score in the two matches they have missed. It is unlikely that either will feature for the trip to basement club Daegu on Saturday, who will see the game as the ideal opportunity to register only their second win of the season.

The travelling Citizen fans will hope for much better than the diabolical display they saw on Saturday.

MOM: Choi Eun Song

Sunday 19 July 2009

Report: Suwon Bluewings 1 - 0 Daejeon Citizen

by Liam Birch at Suwon World Cup Stadium.

Daejeon Citizen produced a stubborn display in rain soaked Suwon on Saturday evening but were unable to prevent the reigning K-League champions from taking all three points.

Despite having the lions share of possession, and limiting Suwon to few opportunities, Daejeon were unable to break down a resolute Suwon defence. In truth, Citizen, without the creativity of Ko Chang Hyeon and long-term absentee Valber, never really looked likely to draw level after falling behind early on.

Daejeon started brightly, buoyed on by a large away following for what is traditionally the biggest derby game of the year. The cheers soon turned to groans of despair however, as Suwon took an early lead.

As Daejeon piled forward, a misplaced pass allowed Suwon to launch a superb flowing attack that left the Citizen defence in disarray. Daejeon barely knew what was happening as Suwon quickly sprayed the ball from right to left before firing a deflected shot past Choi Eun Song and into the net. It was a huge blow, coming after only eleven minutes, but Daejeon showed resilience to come back into the game.

Daejeon, attacking almost exclusively down the left hand side, rarely seriously threatened however. Surprise inclusion Kwon Jib fired a volley harmlessly over the bar following a Daejeon corner before the same player, again from a corner, almost got Daejeon level. A tame defensive header fell to Kwon Jib on the edge of the area. His half volley seemed destined for the top corner, but agonisingly drifted just inches over the bar.

Much maligned striker Park Sung Ho was toiling away as the lone striker, and he will think that he should have equalized. A deep ball from Woo Sung Je confused the Suwon defence and left Park alone in the area. His glancing header looped over the Suwon keeper and unfortunately for Daejeon, over the bar.

It would be more of the same in the second half, with Daejeon keeper Choi having very little to do.

As the rain poured down, Daejeon reasserted their dominance from the first half. New signing Stevan Racic was introduced around the hour mark and he immediately started making a nuisance of himself around the Suwon defence. He first won a freekick around the edge of the area that was crying out for Ko Chang Hyeon. Unfortunately, in his absence, the effort was hit tamely at the grateful Suwon keeper.

Tame would most definitely not be the word to describe Racic's thunderous free kick that followed. Lee Je Kyu won a free kick on the edge of the area, before Racic hit a powerful strike that the Suwon keeper could only deflect away. If Daejeon attackers had only anticipated the spill, they could have equalized. Unfortunately, no one reacted and Suwon cleared easily away.

Overall, it was a good performance from Daejeon, and had the missing players been included, it could well have been a different story. Daejeon will feel confident that they can get back to winning ways against out of form Gyeongnam in Daejeon next Sunday.

MOTM: Woo Sung Je

Thursday 16 July 2009

Depleted Daejeon Gear up for Suwon Test

Daejeon Citizen travel to arch-rivals Suwon tomorrow with a severely depleted squad. Influential players Valber, Kwon Jib and Ko Chang Hyeon will all miss the big showdown due to injury or suspension.

New signing Stevan Racic is expected to start alongside Park Sung Ho in attack.

Kick off is 7.30pm at Suwon World Cup Stadium. MBC-ESPN will also be showing the second half live.

Wednesday 15 July 2009

Daejeon Through to Semi-Finals

Daejeon Citizen have qualified for the semi-finals of the FA Cup.

Na Gwang Hyeon scored in normal time to ensure a 1-1 scoreline thus taking the game to extra time. After no further goals were scored in extra time, the game went to penalty kicks. Goalkeeper Choi Eun-Song was the hero as Daejeon won 5-3 on penalties to book their place in the semis.

Daejeon will face either Suwon, Seongnam or Jeonuk in the semi-finals.

Monday 13 July 2009

Report: Daejeon Citizen 2 - 2 Gangwon FC

by Liam Birch at Daejeon World Cup Stadium

An excellent second half comeback from Daejeon stunned Gangwon as Citizen came from two goals down to salvage a draw at the Purple Arena. In truth, Daejeon will feel that they could and perhaps should have taken all three points in this entertaining encounter.

Daejeon got off to the worst possible start by falling behind after just two minutes. Gangwon too easily found space on the left and a low ball across the Daejeon area met Kim Han Sop, who could only divert the ball into the empty Daejeon net, much to the delight of Gangwons sizable following.

It was a poor start, however Daejeon recovered to again control the midfield battle. Whilst Gangwon were keen to exploit Daejeon's fragile wide defenders, Lee Seon Woo and Kwon Jib in particular were starting to dominate the centre of the park. Daejeon again played Park Sung Ho as the lone forward with the returning Ko Chang Hyeon and Woo Sung Je either side in support.

It was Ko Chang Hyeon who, teed up by the excellent Kwon Jib, really should have done better from inside the eighteen yard area. Perhaps Kwon Jib should have been more selfish as he was certainly in a better position to get a shot away than Ko.

Midway through the half, Daejeon should have levelled. A deep cross from Woo Sung Je was missed by everyone, including Park Sung Ho who should have buried the golden opportunity. Instead, the ball bounced in the six yard area before bouncing back off the corner of post and bar. Even the slightest touch from Park would have resulted in a goal, however it wasn't to be.

Just as Daejeon were pushing for an equalizer, disaster struck. Somehow, a Gangwon forward found himself free of the Daejeon defence before calmly rounding Choi Eun Song and sliding the ball into an empty net. It was a severe blow for Citizen just as the first half was drawing to a close.

After the disastrous first half, Daejeon needed to start brightly, and they did. Numerous headed attempts were wasted, until a goal of the season contender from veteran Lee Seon Woo got Daejeon back in the game on 57 minutes. A cross from deep was headed away by the Gangwon defender and onto the boot of Lee, who unleashed an unstoppable volley from all of twenty five yards that almost burst the top left hand corner of the goal.

Soon after the goal, Stevan Racic came on for his debut and was soon in the thick of the action. In truth, he should have scored with almost his first touch of the game. Unfortunately for Citizen, his tame free-header sailed harmlessly wide of the goal.

Daejeon didn't have to wait much longer though, as top-scorer Ko Chang Hyeon fired Daejeon level. Cutting in from the right, his powerful effort spilled under the keeper and into the bottom left corner.

The comeback was on and from then out it was a constant barrage against the Gangwon goal. First, with just minutes remaining, Racic turned inside the area before placing a shot straight against the right hand post. The Serbian looked clearly frustrated but more drama was to follow. Man of the moment, Lee Je Kyu thought he had won it for Daejeon on 90 minutes. A through ball was superbly chipped over the keeper and into the net by Lee. Agonisingly, the effort was ruled out for offside.

Overall, Daejeon can be very pleased with the way that they fought back from the dead after the break. This is a decent side now, and the addition of Racic should give Park Sung Ho some much needed competition up front.

MOM: Lee Seon Woo

Thursday 9 July 2009

Racic Signs

Daejeon Citizen have secured the 6 month loan signing of Serbian forward Stevan Racic. He joins from FC Javor, who finished 4th in the Serbian league last season. He is expected to make his debut on Sunday against Gangwon FC.


Tuesday 7 July 2009

Daejeon to Face Daegu in Quarter Finals

Daejeon Citizen will face Daegu FC in the quarter finals of the FA Cup. Citizen will be fairly confident of progression, having defeated Daegu twice already this season. The game will be played at Daegu World Cup Stadium on Wednesday 15th July.

Sunday 5 July 2009

Report: Daejeon Citizen 1 - 0 Chunnam Dragons

by Liam Birch at Daejeon World Cup Stadium

A dire affair at the Purple Arena on Saturday ended triumphantly as substitute Lee Je-Kyu fired Daejeon to a late victory over Chunnam Dragons.

In a dreadfully poor game, Daejeon, without influential play maker Valber and leading scorer Ko Chang-Hyeon, never looked like troubling the visitors in the early going. Indeed, in a game of very few chances, the one positive that Daejeon can take is that they bossed the midfield, with Kwon Jib and Lee Song-Un being particularly solid.

The game also saw the return of ex-Daejeon favourite Shuva, who has been heavily linked to a move back to Citizen this summer. It was the Brazilian who should have given Chunnam the lead midway through the first half. With his height a constant threat to the Daejeon defence, he really should have buried his free header. A cross from the left was met by the leaping Shuva who's header fortunately sailed past Choi Eun-Song's right hand post.

It was one of the only notable attempts in a first half that Daejeon dominated without challenging the Chunnam keeper. Park Sung-Ho had numerous weak efforts lamely roll wide and without the creativity of Valber or the dead-ball specialist Ko, it was difficult to see where the breakthrough would come.

As the second half began, Daejeon had several long-range attempts which again, barely troubled Yom Dong-Kyun in the Chunnam goal. Most notably, Woo Song-Je, who looks revitalized following the departure of Kim Ho, had several attempts sail harmlessly wide.

Chunnam rarely troubled Choi in the Daejeon goal as the game was becoming a stalemate in the middle of the park. And just as the game entered it's 90th minute, Daejeon struck.

A ball into the area from the left found Lee Je-Kyu who turned his man before firing expertly into the far right corner. It was a goal that Daejeon probably deserved based on their midfield dominance, but it came as a shock nonetheless.

Cue wild celebrations in the south stand as Daejeon moved to five games unbeaten and up to 12th in the K-League. Daejeon have one more home game remaining before travelling to Suwon away on the 19th, by which time, if results go their way, could be just two points from the playoff positions. Who would have thought that could be possible just a few weeks ago?

MOM: Woo Sung-Je

Wednesday 1 July 2009

Daejeon Through to Quarter Finals of FA Cup

Daejeon Citizen booked their place in the last 8 of the FA Cup with a narrow victory over Kyunghee University last night. Goals from centre-back Hwang Ji-Yoon (36) and Lee Je-Kyu (107) gave Daejeon a 2-1 victory after extra time.