Daegu FC will stay in the top South Korean football league next year after narrowly winning a playoff against a second-division opponent Sunday.
Lee Chan-dong scored in extra time for Daegu, after the Brazilian attackers Cesinha and Edgar had a goal apiece for a 3-1 victory over 10-man Chungnam Asan FC in the second leg of the K League promotion-relegation playoff at DGB Daegu Bank Park in Daegu, 235 kilometers southeast of Seoul.
Chungnam Asan had won the opening leg 4-3 on Thursday but Daegu came out on top 6-5 in the aggregate score.
Daegu ended up in the playoff after finishing in 11th place in the 12-club K League 1, while Chungnam Asan took a crack at earning their first-ever promotion after finishing in second place in the 13-club K League 2.
Daegu FC controlled the run of play in the first half, and their dominance paid off in the form of Cesinha’s goal during stoppage time. Cesinha played a quick give-and-go with Edgar just outside the box and beat goalkeeper Shin Song-hoon after defender Choi Hee-won failed to clear the ball out of harm’s way.
Daegu got an insurance goal in the 83rd minute. After Cesinha took a corner, the ball trickled out to Lee Yong-rae, who was left alone outside the box. Lee fired a right-footed shot toward the goal to have Shin diving to his right, but Edgar deftly redirected the shot with his right heel. The ball took a sudden turn to the bottom right corner, with Shin helplessly watching it trickle into the opposite corner.
More dramatic turns awaited the clubs, as Edgar went from a hero to a scapegoat.
Chungnam Asan were awarded a penalty during stoppage time when Choi Chi-won’s shot struck Edgar in the right arm while the Brazilian player was inside the box. The ball struck Edgar on the right side first before rolling up to hit him in the bottom of the right upper arm, and the call was confirmed following a video review.
Juninho converted the spot kick to tie the aggregate score at 5-5.
The match took another twist moments later, however, as Chungnam Asan’s Josepablo Monreal was sent off on a direct red card for stomping on the foot of Kyohei Yoshino after Yoshino’s tackle.
Chungnam Asan held on to send the match into extra time, but Daegu capitalized on their man advantage as Lee Chan-dong scored just three minutes in.
Chungnam Asan defender Lee Eun-bum tried to clear a cross out of the box with his head but the ball instead landed on Lee Chan-dong, whose left-footed volley found the top left corner for a 6-5 aggregate lead for Daegu.
Daegu then kept the door shut on their opponents to avoid falling into the second division for the first time since 2016.
In the other promotion-relegation playoff series, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors squeezed past Seoul E-Land FC 2-1 in the first leg at Mokdong Stadium in Seoul on Sunday.
Tiago Orobo opened the scoring for Jeonbuk in the 37th minute before Osmar netted the equalizer for Seoul E-Land three minutes after the restart.
Jeon Jin-woo then put Jeonbuk up for good in the 83rd minute, when he soared to meet Kim Tae-hwan’s cross.
The second leg of this playoff is 2:20 p.m. next Sunday at Jeonju World Cup Stadium in Jeonju, 190 km south of Seoul.
Jeonbuk, nine-time K League 1 champions, ended up in this playoff after finishing in 10th place in the K League 1. They have never been relegated before.
Seoul E-Land won a playoff match in the K League 2 to set up a date with Jeonbuk, as they try to earn their first promotion to the top competition.
