In a crucial K League 1 match, Daejeon Hana Citizen leveraged their numerical advantage to defeat Gangwon Football Club (FC), notching their second straight home victory.
The August 23 clash at Daejeon World Cup Stadium saw Daejeon dominate the second half, netting three unanswered goals for a convincing 3-0 win.
This victory improved Daejeon’s record to 7-8-9 (29 points), keeping them in 10th place. Gangwon, despite the loss, remains in 4th with a 9-8-6 record (35 points).
The match kicked off with high intensity, but both sides were forced into early substitutions due to injuries to Gangwon’s Choi Byeong-chan and Daejeon’s Eom Won-sang.
The game took a dramatic turn in the 41st minute when Gangwon midfielder Seo Min-woo was shown a red card following a video assistant referee (VAR) review for a reckless challenge.
Daejeon, now with a man advantage, ramped up their offensive efforts late in the first half. However, headers from Jeong Jae-hee and Rubikson failed to find the target, leaving the score deadlocked at halftime.
Daejeon’s tactical switch at the start of the second half paid immediate dividends. Substitute Masa, introduced moments earlier, calmly controlled the ball in the box before setting up Rubikson for the opener.
Buoyed by the breakthrough, Daejeon doubled their lead in the 55th minute. Kim Bong-soo’s cross from the right flank found Rubikson, who headed it into the path of Joo Min-kyu. The striker made no mistake, nodding home for his third goal in as many games.
The hosts weren’t done yet, as they added a third in the 65th minute. This time, it was Jeong Jae-hee who got on the scoresheet, connecting with Lee Myung-jae’s cross from the left to put the game beyond doubt.
Daejeon maintained their control for the remainder of the match, comfortably seeing out their impressive 3-0 victory.
In other K League action, Incheon United snatched a dramatic 1-0 win at Gwangju FC, courtesy of a stoppage-time penalty from Mugosa.
The victory extended Incheon’s unbeaten run to six games (3W, 3D), improving their record to 9-6-8 (33 points) and moving them up to 6th place.
Gwangju’s struggles continued as they remained winless in 22 matches (7D, 15L), rooted to the bottom of the table with just 11 points.
Despite a challenging encounter, Incheon’s Mugosa kept his cool from the spot, converting the late penalty to secure all three points for his side.