The battle for promotion continues in the K League 2 (2nd Division) at the end of the 2023 season. Gimcheon Commerce and Gimpo FC await a match that will decide which team will go directly to the promotion playoffs.
Gimcheon and Gimpo will meet in the 37th round of the Hana OneQ K League 2 2023 on the 29th at Gimcheon Sports Complex. Second-place Gimcheon has 64 points and third-place Gimpo has 59 points. If Gimcheon, which is also chasing current leader Busan I-Park (66 points), wins this match, it will secure at least second place regardless of the remaining two matches. Conversely, if Gimpo can knock out Gimcheon, they will secure at least third place, making the race for second place even tighter.
The reason why the race for second place in K-League 2 is so interesting to fans is because of the format of the K-League’s promotion system, which has changed since last year. The Korean Football Association made changes to the promotion system ahead of last season. Previously, the last-place team in the K League 1 was automatically relegated and the winner of the K League 2 was automatically promoted, and the second through fourth place teams in the K League 2 played a playoff, with the winner playing a relegation playoff against the 11th place team in the K League 1.토스카지노
However, starting last season, the relegation zone in the K League 1 was expanded to 10-12. As a result, the second place in K-League 2 will go directly to the relegation playoff with the 11th place in K-League 1 without going through a playoff, and the third through fifth place in K-League 2 will play a playoff with the 10th place in K-League 1.
There is a clear difference in terms of stamina between going straight to the relegation playoffs and going through the K-League 2 playoffs to reach the relegation playoffs. This is why the second-place advantage cannot be ignored.
The matchup between the two teams is not an easy one to call. Both teams have been in good form lately. Gimcheon has the most firepower, having scored the most goals this season. They have scored a total of 67 goals in 33 games this season, an average of over two goals per game. Even without Cho Young-wook, who received a special military service exemption for winning gold at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, the team has scored a whopping 17 goals in their last four games.
Gimpo, on the other hand, is a ‘shield’ that boasts the lowest conceded goals in the league. They have conceded just 22 goals. Gimpo may not have the offensive firepower of Gimcheon, but they have a steady game with a lot of activity from all players. They are unbeaten in their last seven matches. The fact that they won both of their previous meetings with Gimcheon is also a confidence booster.