Chunnam Dragons defender Kwak Tae-hwi, seen in this file photo, will be a key player in stopping Seongnam Chunma’s offense in the second round playoff match Wednesday at Seongnam Sports Complex. / Korea Times File |
By Yoon Chul
Staff Reporter
Seongnam Chunma and Chunnam Dragons will look to take another step closer to the K-League championship trophy Wednesday when the two teams meet in the second round of the playoffs in Seongnam.
Both teams needed penalty to shootouts to reach the second round ― fourth place Chunma beat Incheon United Sunday while the sixth-ranked Dragons beat FC Seoul.
In addition to a spot in the semifinals against Pohang Steelers, the winner of Wednesday's clash will also receive the final Korean slot in next year's Asian Football Confederation Champions League.
K-League regular season champions Jeonbuk Motors, runners-up Pohang and FA Cup champs Suwon BlueWings have already qualified for Asia's top club competition.
If Seongnam wins, it will be its first Champions League appearance since reaching the semifinals when they lost to Japanese club Urawa Reds in 2007. Chunnam made it to the quarterfinals last year before being eliminated by Gamba Osaka of Japan.
 Seognam were a win away from silverware earlier this month but lost to Suwon in the FA Cup final.
Head to head, the Shin Tae-yong's Seongnam squad hold a 2-0-1 advantage over Park Hang-seo's club.
Seongnam, who play at home based on a higher regular season ranking, hasn't lost (3-2-0) in five head-to-head matches with the Dragons since September 2006. In the last three games, the Chunma have outscored their opponents 11-2.
While the Chunma may appear to be the favorites, they will be without two key defenders. Sasa Ognenovski and Cho Byung-kuk were ejected during Saturday's match and their absence will leave a big hole in defense.
To make matters worse, Seognam will also be without its manager, who was also ejected when he appealed to referees after Sasa was sent off. The three will all be watching from the stands.
They will be relying on forwards Cho Dong-geon and Kim Jin-ryong, who combined for four goals and two assists in matches against the Dragons this year. Import Dzenan Radoncic will also be a concern for the Dragons' defenders, as the Serbian scored the first goal in the first-round playoff game against Incheon.
The Dragons are also confident they can continue their ascendancy. Chunnam hasn't lost in its last five games with three wins, two draws. They also beat Seongnam 2-0 at home on Sept. 26.
Their tactics will be to defend-first and attack-second. Their most dangerous offensive weapon is unlikely be 100 percent for the start of the match.
Adriano Neves Pereira ― who has scored 16 goals and added four assists in 29 appearances including FA Cup matches, as well as two stirkes against the Chunma suffered a bruised leg in Saturday's match.
"It's just a bruise and it's not too severe so he will play. But we did send him to the hospital just as a precaution," the head coach said.
The Steelers are awaiting the outcome of the match to find out who they will face in Sunday's semifinal at the Steelyard in Pohang.
yc@koreatimes.co.kr
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