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