Seongnam FC suffered a 1-2 upset loss to FC Anyang in the 15th round of the Hana OneQ K League 2 2023 at Tancheon Sports Complex at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday. Seongnam’s unbeaten run took a hit and they remain in seventh place in the standings.
They started well, taking the lead with a goal from Lee Jong-ho, but gradually gave up the offense. When they counterattacked with Chris, he committed a dangerous foul on Lee Chang-yong, which resulted in a direct red card. While being outnumbered, they gave up consecutive goals to Kim Dong-jin and Park Jae-yong in the second half and eventually lost 1-2.
In the post-match press conference, head coach Lee Ki-hyung said, “I apologize to the home fans for visiting the stadium in the rain. We played the game as we prepared for Anyang, but we had difficulties due to the sending-off. I hope this will help us mature and increase our focus on the league. Even though we lost 1-2, it was positive to see that they were eager to follow through. I appreciate that. There’s still a lot of league left, so I hope we’ll be motivated to play better.”
Coach Lee Woo-hyung said, “Chris’ sending off was crucial. If he had continued, it would have been difficult to get a point.” In response, Lee said, “Anyang is a top-ranked team in the K League 2. Until Chris was sent off, we played well against them. After that, it was difficult to play defensively, and we lost our concentration and the momentum shifted to Anyang. Chris’ sending off was a decisive factor.”
At a time when they should be on the rise, Seongnam is slipping. 스포츠토토 “From what I’ve seen so far, there are no strong or weak teams in the K League 2, so every game requires concentration. That’s important, but the players are nervous at every critical juncture. We talk to them and try to overcome them. At some point, it will be complementary and good results will come out,” he said.
Chris’ departure and Shim Dong-woon’s injury left a gap in the side attack. Coach Lee said, “Our team is neither outstanding nor lagging behind. We have Kim Won-jun, Jeon Sung-soo, Shin Jae-won, and others waiting in the wings. They are training hard and improving their physical condition. So I don’t think there will be much of a problem,” he said.