* Translated by AI

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Starting GK to bench → 'Candidate for first professional appearance' Seongnam selects Kang Su; Head Coach Jeon Kyung-jun of Seongnam: "I had a brief talk with Lee Gwang-yeon..." [Suwon field]

Published:

Park Geondo

*This content was translated by AI.

Seongnam FC Head Coach Jeon Kyung-jun. /Photo=Korea Professional Football League
Seongnam FC Head Coach Jeon Kyung-jun. /Photo=Korea Professional Football League

Seongnam FC, which must break its recent sluggish momentum, is making a bold change at the back to aim for an away victory.

Seongnam will face Suwon FC at 7 p.m. on the 30th at Suwon Sports Complex in the 13th round of the Hana Bank K League 2 2026.

The biggest change Head Coach Jeon Kyung-jun has made for this match is in goal. The starting goalkeeper who has guarded Seongnam's net, Lee Gwang-yeon, has started all 12 matches this season, played full 90 minutes in each, and conceded 13 goals.

While the surface statistics do not look particularly bad, he has recently shown poor form, including repeatedly making fatal errors in the process of conceding goals.

Ultimately, Head Coach Jeon Kyung-jun made a decision. He excluded Lee Gwang-yeon from the starting lineup, having him start the match from the bench, and selected Jung Myung-je as the starting goalkeeper. Jung Myung-je's entire professional career consists of just one match (3 goals conceded) while playing for Kim Cheon (SVP) during his military service in 2024.

In a pre-match interview, Head Coach Jeon Kyung-jun stated, "I had a brief meeting with Lee Gwang-yeon," and explained the reason for the goalkeeper change: "Rather than blaming the player for the recent slump, I judged that he needed time to take a step back and compose himself."

He continued, "I also told the player that it would be good to briefly change his environment, recharge, and prepare well for the future. Since Jung Myung-je has been showing excellent form at training, I decided it was right to give him an opportunity at this point and included him in the starting lineup."

Lee Gwang-yeon. /Photo=Korea Professional Football League
Lee Gwang-yeon. /Photo=Korea Professional Football League

Although it is an unusual decision to change the starting goalkeeper midway through the season, Head Coach Jeon Kyung-jun expressed continued trust. He emphasized, "Regardless of this exclusion from the lineup, Lee Gwang-yeon remains Seongnam's number one goalkeeper. During a long season, various variables inevitably arise for individual players. This incident is just one part of the growth process. Given his exceptional skill and ability, I believe he will return with a good performance after preparing well."

Currently, revitalizing Seongnam's atmosphere is urgent. They started the month on a high note with a 2-1 victory over Yongin FC in their first match of May, but since then, they have drawn consecutively against Jeonnam Dragons (0-0) and Gyeongnam FC (1-1), halting their accumulation of points.

Finally, in their most recent match on the 24th against Seoul Iland, they suffered a decisive 1-3 defeat and bowed their heads. Seongnam, which has failed to secure three consecutive victories in their last three matches, currently sits in 10th place in the league with 3 wins, 6 draws, 3 losses, and 15 points.

Today, Seongnam also made a change by starting Yoon Min-ho from the bench. Regarding this, Head Coach Jeon Kyung-jun noted, "While Angelo was sidelined due to injury, Yoon Min-ho played a significant amount of time up front. Having suddenly moved from being a substitute in the second half to a starter, he is currently in a somewhat fatigued physical state."

On the physical condition of players who have returned from injury and made the lineup, he remains cautious. Head Coach Jeon Kyung-jun added, "Angelo still feels pain when sprinting or making strong movements, and Lee Jeong-bin's muscles have not fully recovered yet."

Jung Myung-je. /Photo=NEWS1
Jung Myung-je. /Photo=NEWS1

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*This content was translated by AI.

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