Suwon Samsung Bluewings' recent dramatic K-League collapse, in which they threw away a lead that at one stage stretched to eleven points, breathed new life into an end-of-season playoff race that until then looked as though it was going to focus on the battle for fifth and sixth spot.
Cha's side, who had raced into a seemingly unassailable lead with twelve wins and a draw from the opening thirteen matches, stuttered to a series of defeats and saw their lead eroded by Seongnam, with the Chunma eventually overtaking the Bluewings on goal difference in early September.
Despite moving to the top of the standings, Seongnam too slumped to consecutive defeats as it appeared that neither side was capable of getting back to winning ways. Indeed, by the end of September, three sides were level at the top of the league as FC Seoul moved above Suwon and into second place thanks to a superior goal difference, helped in no small part by Suwon's spectacular home collapse to Jeonbuk where they lost 5-2.
The weekend of October 4-5 saw Seongnam and Suwon return to winning ways with wins over Gyeongnam and Daegu respectively, whilst FC Seoul could only manage a 2-2 draw on the road at Incheon, a creditable result considering the capital club were reduced to nine men during the course of the match. Incheon's draw, their third in four matches, has seen them go on a run of just two wins in nine, and given hope to the following pack that they could overtake Jang Woe-ryong's side and claim a playoff spot.
With five games to go before the end of the regular season, Seongnam and Suwon lead the pack on 44 points with FC Seoul in third just two points behind. The battle to secure first place, and the guaranteed playoff final berth that comes with it, will go to the wire and there are some tasty clashes involving the top three between now and the end of the season. Seongnam will travel to the capital to face FC Seoul on October 26th, and just three days later the capital club make the short journey through to Suwon in what is likely to be an enthralling encounter.
Ulsan sit comfortably placed in fourth, and may well harbour hopes of overtaking FC Seoul should the capital club slip up against the top two. Pohang, currently fifth, enjoy a six point advantage over sixth-placed Incheon and are seven points ahead of Jeonbuk in seventh, so barring a late collapse they look good for a playoff spot and chance to defend their title.
The destination of the sixth spot is less than clear, as although Incheon currently hold a one point advantage, Jeonbuk, Gyeongnam, Daegu and Jeju are all breathing down their neck and the stage is set for an exciting end to the season.
Round 22 will take place on the weekend of October 18-19, with Incheon v Ulsan arguably the pick of the weekend's matches. The full card for next weekend is as follows:
October 18th
Jeju v Daegu (2:30pm)
Gyeongnam v Pohang (3pm)
Seongnam v Busan (7pm)
Suwon v Gwangju (7pm)
October 19th
FC Seoul v Daejeon (3pm)
Incheon v Ulsan (3pm)
Chunnam v Jeonbuk (3:30pm)
Current Standings
Pos Team P W D L F A Pts GD 1 Seongnam 21 13 5 3 42 18 44 24 2 Suwon 21 14 2 5 38 22 44 16 3 FC Seoul 21 11 9 1 39 22 42 17 4 Ulsan 21 10 7 4 29 24 37 5 5 Pohang 21 10 4 7 34 29 34 5 6 Incheon 21 7 8 6 26 24 29 2 ----------------------------------------------- 7 Jeonbuk 21 8 4 9 30 31 28 -1 8 Gyeongnam 21 7 5 9 27 31 26 -4 9 Daegu 21 8 1 12 42 49 25 -7 10 Jeju 21 6 6 9 20 24 24 -4 11 Chunnam 21 6 4 11 21 33 22 -12 12 Daejeon 21 3 10 8 18 27 19 -9 13 Busan 21 3 7 11 25 36 16 -11 14 Gwangju 21 2 6 13 20 41 12 -21
In the Hauzen Cup, Suwon Samsung Bluewings and Chunnam Dragons will clash in the final after both sides secured their spot with semi-final victories over Pohang and Jeonbuk respectively. Suwon needed penalties to overcome Pohang as the tie finished 0-0 after extra time, and the Bluewings ran out 3-2 winners from the spot. Chunnam made sure of their berth in the final as two goals from Kwak Tae-hwi helped them on their way to a 3-1 win.
The final will take place at the Suwon World Cup stadium on Wednesday October 22nd, with kick-off at 7:30pm.
