Incheon United blocked the front of Busan I'Park, which is desperate for three points.
Incheon and Busan drew 0-0 in the 37th round of the 'Hana Bank K League 2 2025' held at Incheon Football Stadium on the 2nd.
Busan (55 points), which desperately needed three points for the promotion playoff, swallowed its regret by failing to close the gap with fifth-place E-Land (59 points).
Incheon, which has already confirmed its victory, stood in front of Busan, which has a busy way to go. Incheon won the previous 36th round against Gyeongnam and confirmed its K League 2 victory early. Incheon, which succeeded in direct promotion a year after relegation in the 2024 season, wanted a perfect finish. Coach Yoon Jung-hwan has revealed that he has no intention of losing his strength in the remaining three games. The players are also still full of motivation as they have several awards along with their performances this season. Players who are likely to win the award, such as Mugosa Gerson, Park Seung-ho, and Kim Gun-hee, were likely to continue their participation even after the championship was confirmed.
On the other hand, Busan was in a position to beat Incheon and save the last spark of this season. To advance to the playoffs, Busan (54 points), which is currently ranked eighth, needed an unconditional victory to narrow the gap with E-Land (59 points). If any of the remaining three games were lost, hopes of reaching the playoffs could disappear, so they had to pour all their energy into it. However, this season, Busan was not strong against Incheon. He struggled with one draw and one loss in two games. It was important to continue the atmosphere of a 4-1 victory against Gimpo just before.
Incheon coach Yoon Jung-hwan brought up a 4-4-2 formation. Park Seung-ho and Shin Jin-ho were at the forefront, and Kim Sung-min, Lee Myung-joo, Jung Won-jin and Baek Min-gyu were in the midfield. The defense was built by Lee Ju-yong, Kim Gun-woong, Kim Gun-hee, and Choi Seung-gu. Lee Bum-soo defended the goal.
Busan coach Cho Sung-hwan faced off with a 3-4-3 formation. Choi Ki-yoon, Yoon Min-ho, Kim Hyun-min, and Lee Dong-soo and Xavier kept the midfield in the front three-top. The wingback was composed of Kim Se-hoon and Jeon Sung-jin, and the three-back was composed of Jang Ho-ik Jo Wi-je and Kim Hee-seung. Gu Sang-min wore goalkeeper gloves.
From the beginning of the first half, Busan first took the opportunity to attack and aimed for the Incheon goal. However, Incheon had no intention of breaking through easily. He rarely allowed a threatening situation, blocking Busan's attack that was trying to reach near the penalty area in advance. In the 13th minute of the first half, he blocked a threatening pass to Yoon Min-ho, who penetrated into the center, overcoming the crisis.
Incheon also stepped up to create opportunities with counterattacks. In the 35th minute of the first half, Park Seung-ho caught the ball in the box as the long pass flowed through the defense, but he missed the shooting timing, and Baek Min-gyu and Lee Myung-joo also missed the opportunity in the subsequent connection.
Busan had a great last-minute opportunity. Choi Ki-yoon's shot after breaking through in the 45th minute of the first half was blocked by his teammate Yoon Min-ho, which unfortunately failed to lead to a score. The first half ended 0-0.
Both Incheon and Busan created threatening scenes in earnest from the second half. In the 13th minute of the second half, Jung Won-jin's mid-range shot aimed at the goal of Busan, but was blocked by Koo Sang-min. In the 16th minute of the second half, Lee Bum-soo blocked Kim Hee-seung's mid-range shot. In Busan, Lee Dong-soo's shot headed to the side of the net in the 18th minute of the second half.
Despite Busan's offensive, Incheon was not penetrated. In the 31st minute of the second half, Lee Bum-soo blocked Gonzalo's header following Villero's cross, and Kim Gun-hee blocked Pesin's subsequent shot with a hand-to-hand defense. Rather, he aimed for an opportunity with a counterattack. In the 39th minute of the second half, Barlow attempted a counterattack and a cross that began with a breakthrough on the right side to aim for Gerson on the other side, but Ku Sang-min caught the ball first. In the 41st minute of the second half, Mugosa had a chance in front of the box, but the shot did not impact properly and headed in front of the goalkeeper.
In the end, the match ended in a 0-0 draw.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
