SEOUL– The second-tier club Daejeon Hana Citizen FC took a giant step toward a return to the top competition Wednesday, beating the first division team Gimcheon Sangmu FC 2-1 in a playoff match at home.
Cho Yu-min and Ju Se-jong had a goal apiece for the victorious side in the first leg of the K League promotion-relegation playoffs at Daejeon World Cup Stadium in Daejeon, some 160 kilometers south of Seoul. Mun Ji-hwan had the lone goal for Gimcheon.
Daejeon will be promoted to the top flight K League 1 next year with either a victory or a draw in the second leg Saturday.
In the day’s other playoff match, K League 1’s Suwon Samsung Bluewings and K League 2’s FC Anyang ended in a scoreless draw.
By finishing 10th and 11th in the 12-team K League 1, respectively, Gimcheon and Suwon dropped to the promotion-relegation playoffs. Daejeon reached the playoffs after finishing in second place in the K League 2, while Anyang got here after getting through an earlier K League 2 playoff.
The worst team in the K League 1 this year, Seongnam FC, suffered direct relegation to the K League 2, and traded places with the K League 2 champions, Gwangju FC.
The two winners of these playoffs will be in the K League 1 next year. The promotion-relegation system was put in place in 2013. Daejeon last competed in the K League 1 in 2015, and Anyang have never been in the top division.
Suwon, four-time K League 1 champions, have never played in the K League 2. Gimcheon just earned their promotion for this season after winning the K League 2 title in 2021.
There is no away goals rule in effect. If the teams are tied in the aggregate score after the second legs Saturday, they will go to extra time and, if necessary, penalty shootout.
Suwon will host Anyang in the second leg at 2 p.m. Saturday, and the second leg of the Gimcheon-Daejeon matchup kicks off at 4 p.m. Saturday.
K League 2 teams won the first four promotion-relegation playoffs, from 2013 to 2016, but K League 1 sides claimed the three of the next four playoffs.
Source: Yonhap News Agency