Gwangju FC continues its upward trend in its second home game.
Gwangju will play a home game against Incheon United in the 35th round of Hana One Q K League 1 2023 at Gwangju Soccer Stadium on the 28th at 4:30 pm.
Recently, the flow in Gwangju is at its peak. In the last 34th round home game against leader Ulsan Hyundai, they won 1-0 with Lee Kun-hee’s winning goal, and are maintaining 3rd place with 3 consecutive wins and a possibility of advancing to the Asian Champions League 2 (ACL2).
The gap with the second-place Pohang Steelers (59 points), who can participate in the ACL Elite, is 2 points. If Gwangju wins against Incheon and Pohang loses to Jeonbuk Hyundai, a turnaround is possible. It is also a good opportunity to make history as the highest ranking in K League 1 since its founding.
Gwangju was strong when facing Incheon Bay. Although they are slightly ahead of their previous record with 7 wins, 14 draws, and 6 losses, since taking over as manager Lee Jeong-hyo, they have recorded 2 wins, 2 draws, and undefeated, including the FA Cup. In particular, the two wins were scored by six and five goals, instilling a clear sense of fear in Incheon about Gwangju.
At the center are Incheon killers Asani and Lee Hee-gyun. Asani led the team to a 5-0 victory with a hat trick in the home match on March 18. In the away game on August 18, he scored a dramatic equalizer at 2-2, and is showing off his improved performance by even scoring in the Euro 2024 qualifier against the Czech Republic in October.
Lee Hee-gyun also scored his K-League debut goal against Incheon, and maintained his strong form by scoring a goal in a 5-0 win in March. In the last game against Ulsan, which was his return from injury, he helped Lee Kun-hee’s winning goal and boosted his confidence and performance.
The defense, which had gaps, is even more solid. Kim Seung-woo, who started as a starter for the first time in a long time, showed off his perfect defense against Ulsan’s powerful offense. Lee Joon is filling Kim Kyung-min’s gap well by making good saves at critical moments. With the return of captain and defensive core Ahn Young-gyu, the defense is expected to become more solid.
Incheon still cannot be ignored. The powerful foreign line of Mugosa, Gerso, Mpoku, and Hernández is holding out. Although he experienced ups and downs at the beginning of this season, he showed off his potential by rising mid-season and dramatically joining Final A. We must do our best to block those who account for more than half of Incheon’s power.
Their momentum was dampened by losing 0-2 in their home game against Shandong Taishan in the ACL group stage in midweek. It is difficult to fully concentrate on the Gwangju game due to the parallel schedule of the FA Cup and League ACL until the international break in November. Gwangju plans to attack Incheon with physical strength, strong pressure, and dynamic attack power.굿모닝토토
Attention is focused on whether Gwangju will continue Incheon’s undefeated streak and take a step forward toward the Asian stage.