(Daegu Gyeongbuk Daily News = Reporter Hwang Ji-hyun) Kimcheon Sangmu Professional Soccer Team was relegated to K League 2 after losing to Daejeon Hana Citizen in the second round of the playoffs. Despite this, Gimcheon fans, including the indomitable official fans, expressed their undying affection for the team.
Gimcheon Sangmu Professional Football Team (Nak-ho Bay CEO) lost 4-0 against Daejeon Hana Citizen in the second match of the ‘Hana One Q K-League Promotion PO 2022’ held at 4 pm on the 29th of October at the Gimcheon Sports Complex. As a result, Gimcheon swap seats with promoted team Daejeon and start the 2023 season in K-League 2.
Kim Cheon faced Daejeon in a 4-3-3 formation. Lee Jun-seok, Kim Ji-hyeon, and Kwon Chang-hoon took the first line, and Lee Young-jae, Moon Ji-hwan, and Ko Seung-beom took the second line. Kang Yun-seong, Song Ju-hoon, Park Ji-soo, and Jeong Dong-yun were responsible for the back four line, and Hwang In-jae kept the goal. On the bench, Shin Song-hoon, Kim Han-gil, Kim Kyung-min, Im Seung-gyeom, Choi Byeong-chan, Lee Yoo-hyeon, and Yoon Seok-joo were waiting.
Kimcheon, who lost 1-2 in the first leg of the play-offs, had to win by two goals to ensure their stay without overtime. However, the will to promote Daejeon was strong. Chun Kim, who was pushed to the brink, gave Daejeon the initiative from the start of the first half. Daejeon continued to attack, and in the 31st minute, Jin-hyeon Lee conceded a goal to end the first half 0-1. In the second half, starting with Jin-hyeon Lee’s extra goal, Kim In-gyun, Shin Sang-eun, and Kim Seung-seop conceded consecutive goals, finishing the game 0-4.
With K League 2’s relegation confirmed, after the match, Kim Cheon held a ceremony to commemorate the release of 4th graders Seung-Beom Ko, Kyung-Min Kim, Jeong-Hoon Kim, Han-Gil Kim, Ji-Hwan Moon , Park Ji-Hwan, Joo-Hoon Song, Dong-Yun Jeong, Eon-Hak Ji, Chan-Hee Han, and In-Jae Hwang. A free hug event was held for 100 pre-recruited fans as well as a video screening to commemorate the release.
Along with the formation of the squad, supporters’ voices encouraging the team such as “It’s ok”, “Good job”, and “It’s cool” echoed everywhere. Captain Ji-hwan Moon, who shed tears immediately after the game, and the later sergeants who took part in the game also cried out in an interview about their feelings of relief, expressing their gratitude and sorrow to’ the fans.
Kim Cheon Sang-moo, the general manager of Lee Seung-jun’s official fans, said, “The more difficult the team is, the more the fans need to add more strength. You can’t always win. Despite such circumstances, our role is to encourage and support the players instead of criticizing them. I want to say that the players, the coaching staff and the support staff have all worked hard.”
It would have been an added bonus if the ceremony to commemorate the release of the 4th group Gimcheon was held together with a confirmation of staying in the K-League 1. However, the situation has already happened, and the fans expressed their undying love for the squad at the ceremony to commemorate Gimcheon’s 4th release ceremony, held right after the relegation of K League 2. This is the reason why we are looking forward to Kim Chun in the 2023 K League 2 season .
