SEOUL, Gangwon FC will play in the top division in South Korean professional football next season, following their narrow victory in a key playoff match Saturday.
Gangwon defeated 10-man Gimpo FC 2-1 in the second leg of their K League promotion-relegation playoff on Saturday. The teams were goalless in the first leg, and Gangwon prevailed 2-1 in the aggregate score to stay in the K League 1 for 2024.
Gimpo, in just their second year of existence, will have to wait at least another season to join the big boys.
Vitor Gabriel scored both goals for Gangwon, including the go-ahead marker on 75 minutes moments after Gimpo striker Luis Fabian Mina received a straight red card for elbowing Gangwon defender Marko Tuci in the box.
Gimpo FC earned a spot in the promotion-relegation playoff after finishing the K League 2 regular season in third place and then beating Gyeongnam FC in a K League 2 playoff. Gangwon FC dropped to this playoff after finishing in 10th place in the K League 1.
Gangwon barely avoided going down to the K League 2 for the first time since 2016.
Gimpo and Gangwon didn’t have a shot on target through the first 20 minutes of the return leg. Gimpo had the best chance for either side in the first half on 42 minutes, when Juninho Rocha found the crossbar with a left-footed shot on a counter break.
Gangwon finally broke through five minutes after the restart. Vitor Gabriel received a long pass on the left wing, cut toward the center of the box and then unleashed a right-footed shot into the bottom right corner, just out of goalkeeper Park Cheong-hyo’s reach.
Gimpo drew level on 58 minutes, thanks to a fortuitous bounce. A free kick from the right side ricocheted off the back of Gangwon forward Lee Jung-hyub, and Gimpo defender Jo Sung-gwon volleyed the loose ball home to make it a 1-1 match.
The match took a wild twist just after the 70th-minute mark. Gimpo forward Luis Fabian Mina, the K League 2’s top scorer this year, was sent off with his errant elbow to the side of Tuci’s head.
Vitor Gabriel then put Gangwon up for good on 75 minutes, as he volleyed home a cross from Hwang Mun-ki.
Source: Yonhap News Agency