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[Video] Jeonbuk loss dents United hopesUnited must win both remaining fixtures to retain any chance of playoff qualification
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½ÂÀÎ 2013.08.27  09:16:39
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Fans knew Jeju United would look different this year, but not many would have guessed their makeover might also mean missing the playoffs.

Jeju United fell 3-0 to Jeonbuk Motors on Saturday – a score that may foreshadow Jeju's record in their final three games if they continue play the same against Busan and Daejeon in their upcoming matches. It was a crushing loss that has nearly dashed United’s ability to qualify for the K-League Classic playoffs.

United was seemingly behind the eight ball even before kickoff, starting the match with five of their top six scorers either on the bench or not dressed.

Playing without Lee Yong, Bae Il-Hwan, Seo Dong-Hyeon, Maranhão, and K-League Classic leading scorer Pedro Junior seemed insane considering Jeju needed a victory and those five players had scored 76 percent of United’s 34 goals this season.

Jeju started the match out with visible intensity, getting shots on target at a noticeably higher than normal rate, and made Jeonbuk earn every exit of their own half. But it would not last.

On 27 minutes, Jeonbuk struck first. While inside Jeju’s box, Leonardo fed a pass to the top from the left side to Lee Seung-Ki, who finished it into the bottom right of the goal to stake his team a 1-0 lead.

Leonardo would influence Jeonbuk’s next goal as well. Six minutes later, he took a free kick from the left sidelines, just over the center line. His kick sailed into Jeju’s box, where it was skimmed by the head of defender Alex Wilkinson, and directed again into the right side of Jeju’s goal to take Jeonbuk into halftime with a 2-0 lead.

¡ã United lacked bite upfront as they fell to Jeonbuk 3-0. Photo courtesy Jeju United Football Club

The second half did not see conditions improve for Jeju. They kept their opponents at bay until 72 minutes, when Kevin Oris created a turnover at the top of Jeju’s box, and pounded it through Park Jun-Hyuk’s legs and in without opposition to give the visitors an unmatchable three-nil lead.

Pedro Junior was finally brought on on 78 minutes, but with just 12 minutes to play it did little to improve Jeju’s chances. Jeonbuk's superiority simply shone through -- dodging slide tackles, blocking shots, and seemingly winning every small battle for loose balls throughout the game. Had it not been for a number of big saves from United goalkeeper Park Jun-Hyuk throughout the match, the 5,529 fans in attendance would have witnessed the already unreasonable score inflate to a well out of hand tally.

The loss means major trouble for Jeju’s playoff aspirations. As Jeju failed to gain any ground in the hunt for the final qualification spot, other teams below them did, and the team they were chasing for seventh increased their lead as well.

Seongnam’s 3-1 upset of Ulsan allowed them to vault past Jeju for eighth and drop United to ninth. Busan’s 1-0 defeat of Incheon United pushed Jeju four points outside of a playoff spot with two games remaining.

Mathematically, Jeju can still qualify for the next round; however, it will be difficult. At the very least, they will have to beat Busan on the road this Wednesday to prevent Busan from pulling any further ahead in the standings. They then will have to beat last place Daejeon Citizen on Sept. 1 at home.

Even if all those checkpoints click, Jeju will still be relying on the success and failure of other teams as they also round out the regular season. In addition to a necessary loss to Jeju, Busan will also have to lose to second place Jeonbuk Motors, a team they shared spoils with in their last match. Seongnam will have to lose to 13th place Gangwon (Gangwon beat them 2-1 last meeting) and 11th place Gyeongnam (Seongnam beat them 2-0 last match).

If either Jeju, Busan, or Seongnam fail to meet those standards, Jeju United will land themselves on the outside of the K-League Classic playoffs looking in, and fighting to stave off relegation and save their place in the league for 2014. Their advancement is plausible, though its materialization will be challenging.

Jeju’s remaining two matches of the K-League Classic regular season are against Busan I’Park on Wednesday, Aug. 28 in Busan, and Daejeon Citizen at home on Sunday, Sept. 1. Jeju defeated seventh place Busan 1-0 in their last match back in March, and drew 1-1 with last place Daejeon, also in March.

Dave Cunning is a freelance writer from Kelowna, BC, Canada. Read his blog http://davecunning.wordpress.com and follow him on Twitter: @davecunning



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