All 10 K League 2 teams enter the FA Cup this weekend as the competition reaches the second round. While there are no all-K League ties, there are plenty of intriguing match-ups including K League 2 versus K5 clashes such as Bucheon FC 1995 facing Gimhae Jaemics and Seoul E-Land taking on Songwol. Should the Leopards emerge victorious, a first Seoul Derby against FC Seoul awaits. The columnists of K League United look ahead to the 2nd Round of the 2021 Korean FA Cup.
Saturday 27th March 2021
FC Anyang (KL2) vs Cheonan City (K3) - 14:00 KST
K League 2 side FC Anyang will be looking to get back to winning ways on Saturday when the Violets host Cheonan City in the FA Cup 2nd Round. Anyang got off to a winning start to the new season, picking up an impressive win away to promotion contenders Gyeongnam FC, but have since lost two and drawn one. Since becoming a K League club in 2013, Anyang have faced teams outside of Korea's top two divisions on 10 occasions - winning eight and losing just twice. The most recent was a victory over Goyang Citizen from K4 in the competition last year with the Violets sealing a 2-0 win. The furthest Anyang have reached in the FA Cup is the Round of 16 in 2019.
Cheonan, meanwhile, are no strangers to K League opposition in this competition. The K3 side beat Busan IPark 1-0 in 2019 in what was their most recent encounter with a K League side. Since the club's foundation in 2007, City have faced K League opposition on eight occasions winning just twice and losing six. As well as the aforementioned win over Busan IPark, the only other K League scalp was away to Bucheon FC 1995 back in 2010. Cheonan comfortably dispatched Incheon-based K4 outfit FC Namdong in the previous round by four goals to one. The victors will take on Incheon United away from home in the next round.
Bucheon FC 1995 (KL2) vs Gimhae Jaemics (K5) - 14:00 KST
Bucheon FC 1995 currently sit sixth in K League 2 with one win and two draws in four games. They have failed to score more than once in a single match this season, but their strong defence has meant they have only conceded three goals in total. Coming up against a K5 team for the first time in their history they should be confident of progressing, considering that Bucheon are a side that have gone as far as the semi-finals in the FA Cup. In 2016 they knocked out K League 1 clubs Pohang Steelers and Jeonbuk Motors on their way to the last four, but the Gyeonggi Province club have not made it past their first match since 2017.
Last year Bucheon lost to then-K4 club Ulsan Citizen 1-0 and they have been knocked out by lower league teams in other years too, such as Incheon University in 2015 and Jeonju Citizen in 2013. Even though the hosts will probably take this as an opportunity to experiment and rest a few players, they will have to take their opposition seriously, as Gimhae Jaemics are a team competing in their first ever FA Cup and have absolutely nothing to lose. The winners will face either Siheung Citizen or Gimhae FC in Round 3.
Busan IPark (KL2) vs Jeonju FC (K4) - 14:00 KST
Busan IPark have had an inconsistent start to 2021, with two hard-fought wins offset by thrashings at the hands of Seoul E-Land and Chungnam Asan. Coach Ricardo Peres will see Saturday’s FA Cup tie as an opportunity to give minutes to some of his fringe and youth players, so there could be debuts for the likes of keeper Jin Pil-rip and winger Eo Jeong-won.
Busan were knocked out in the quarter finals of this competition last year by Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, but they will fancy their chances against the city’s citizen team. Jeonju FC cruised through the first round with a 9-0 thumping of 523 FC, but they’ve endured a difficult start to life in the K4 after being relegated last season. Having started the season with 3-0 and 5-0 defeats in the fourth tier, a run to the third round of the cup would be seen as a major accomplishment. Busan have won the competition once, overcoming Bucheon SK (Jeju United) on penalties in 2004. A victory for either side would set up a round three clash with K League 1 side Seongnam FC.
Chungnam Asan (KL2) vs Goyang Citizen (K4) - 16:00 KST
Results have been mixed for both clubs thus far this season, with Chungnam Asan losing by a narrow margin last time out in the league to Ansan Greeners after a sensational 4-0 rout of Busan IPark the weekend before. They will be looking to get back into the win column in cup play this Saturday afternoon. Matheus Alves and Alex Sandro have seen limited time thus far, so a spot in the starting eleven this weekend could be in the cards as they look to establish themselves as more permanent pieces with the club. With back-to-back league fixtures coming up against Gyeongnam FC and Seoul E-Land, having a bit of momentum to carry with them would give them a better opportunity for results, but they will still be underdogs heading into both matches.
Goyang Citizen scraped through on penalties in the first round of the FA Cup against Yeoju Sejong after the match had finished 4-4 after extra time. They are currently sixth in K3 following a 1-0 loss to Yangpyeong FC in their first match and a 3-2 win over Pyeongchang United last time out.
Attacking midfielder Choo Min-yeol arrived over the winter from Bucheon FC 1995 and will be key to what they do in the middle of the park. The winners of this tie will take on either Yangyeong FC or Ansan Greeners away in Round 3.
Seoul E-Land (KL2) vs Songwol (K5) - 16:00 KST
Seoul E-Land had an excellent start to K League 2 this season, but the focus now turns to the FA Cup. Seoul might play younger players in the tie - some rookies that came through or players that haven’t played yet. Leandro might play as he was taken off against Gyeongnam in the second half.
Seoul don’t have a good fortune in the FA Cup. The best they did was 2019 when they went out t Daejeon Korail in the Round of 16. They shouldn’t take the smaller team for granted. A memorable tie was back in 2018 when they were knocked out by Korea University on penalties. A win would set up a tie with FC Seoul in the next round.
Songwol won convincingly in the last round so it shows that they can score and put the ball into the back of the net. If they go all-out attacking against Seoul E-Land, they could shock them and get an early goal. The Korean FA cup shows so many so-called "smaller teams" beating the big teams because they don’t do their homework on them. But Chung jung-yong will be taking this game very seriously and will have have prepared perfectly for it.
Jeonnam Dragons (KL2) vs Daegu Cheongsol (K5) - 16:00 KST
Jeonnam Dragons have a great record in the FA Cup, with only three teams (Suwon Bluewings, Pohang Steelers, and Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors) having won the competition more than the Dragons' three titles. However, the last time they won the trophy was back in 2007. Last season they were knocked out by eventual winners Jeonbuk, but the champions needed extra time and influential substitutions to win in a 3-2 thriller. Jeonnam face K5 League team Daegu Cheongsol in their first FA Cup game this season, the Dragons have a convincing record against lower league opposition and have never lost to any team below K League 2 in the competition’s history. The South Jeolla side are in relatively good form, currently one of only two unbeaten sides in K League 2, and should be too strong for Daegu Cheongsol this Saturday. An away tie with K League 1 outfit Suwon FC awaits the victors.
Sunday 28th March 2021
Paju Citizen (K3) vs Daejeon Hana Citizen (KL2) - 14:00 KST
Daejeon Hana Citizen make the trip north to Gyeonggi Province to take on K3 outfit Paju Citizen. Paju overcame K4 side Seoul Nowon United away from home in Round 1 to set up Sunday's tie. Paju were crowned as K4 champions last season and in their first season in the third tier are unbeaten with two draws from their first two matches. In 2019, Paju recorded their best ever run in the competition by making it to the round of 16 after entering in the third round before going on to beat three university teams before eventually losing 2-0 to K League 1 outfit Gangwon FC. Said defeat was Paju's only meeting to date with a K League team.
Sunday will be the first ever meeting between the two sides. Daejeon, though, have faced non-K League opposition on 22 occasions since 2001, winning 18 and losing just four. The most recent loss to a team outside of K League came in 2019 when the Purples were displaced by Dankook University on penalties following a 2-2 draw. Daejeon won the competition in 2001 and came close shortly after but haven't made it past the Round of 16 since 2012. The winners will play Suwon Samsung Bluewings away in something of a glamour tie.
Ansan Greeners (KL2) vs Yangpyeong FC (K4) - 16:00 KST
The Green Wolves begin their FA Cup campaign with a cup tie at home to K4 side Yangpyeong FC. It looks likely that Indonesian signing Asnawi Mangkualam will be making his first start for the club adding some glitz to what should be a routine win for the somewhat in-form K League 2 team. However Ansan have history for making hard work of this sort of game, being dumped out by lower league opposition in 2017 and 2019. This is only the second time that any Ansan side has come up against a fourth tier one, with the Greeners an dispatching Siheung in a 3-0 win last year. Yangpyeong themselves had to make it through the first round on penalties against fellow K4 side Chungju FC.
The east Gyeonggi side are coming into the game off the back of a 2-1 league defeat against Chuncheon. There is call for caution for Ansan though, as while they may be riding high in second in K League 2, only two goals this season have come from open play. This could inspire a “park the bus” approach from Yangpyeong to take the Green Wolves to the lottery of penalties. Ansan will need to score early to quickly brush aside the Yangpyeong resistance. The winners of Chungnam Asan vs Goyang Citizen away awaits the winners of this contest.
Daejeon Korail (K3) vs Gyeongnam FC (KL2) - 16:00 KST
The Reds head into the clash with K3 outfit Daejeon Korail in good spirits. Gyeongnam were mostly on the front foot last weekend against Seoul E-Land, keeping the Leopards scoreless for the first time this campaign. It's more than likely that manager Seol Ki-hyeon may rotate his squad this Sunday. Seol has had the luxury of selecting mainly the same match day squad in the early part of the campaign to date.
Daejeon Korail go into the clash knowing that with home advantage they will have nothing to lose and will try to win the tie. They finished last season in sixth position in K League 3 and so far this season they have drawn one and lost one in their opening two fixtures. Their squad boasts a number of players that have K League 1 and K League 2 experience so they as an outfit will know how to win games like this one. Either Mokpo FC or Gimpo Citizen at home awaits the winners in the next round.
