'Challenge for 100 Wins' Kim Do-gyun: "Paju will turn the flank behind us" vs 'Revenge Match' Gerard Nous: "Seoul E-land is excellent, but we will decide with football" [Mokdong Field]

*This content was translated by AI.

Kim Do-gyun (49), Seoul E-land manager, is launching his challenge for 100 wins. Gerard Nous (41), Paju Frontier manager, expressed respect for the opponent while vowing to perform well.

Seoul E-land will face Paju Frontier in a Hana Bank K League2 2026 Round 23 home match at Mokdong Stadium on the afternoon of the 23rd at 7:30 p.m.

After the World Cup break, Seoul E-land has gone unbeaten in six matches (4 wins, 2 draws), accumulating 40 points (12 wins, 4 draws, 5 losses) to sit in third place, trailing second-place Suwon FC only on goal difference. The gap to the top-ranked Suwon Samsung is just four points. A victory today would narrow the gap to one point.

Speaking before the match, Manager Kim Do-gyun said, "We anticipated that Paju would target spaces behind us, launch counterattacks, and rely heavily on long balls, so we prepared accordingly." He added, "When Paju deploys a 5-3-2 formation during defense, we plan to continuously exploit the spaces created as both wide midfielders push forward."

Regarding the defensive adjustment that moved Baek Ji-woong into a defensive midfielder role, he stated, "Kim Oh-gyu, who had been resting over the summer, played the full 90 minutes in the last match. When paired with Osmar, he showed stability, so we selected him for the starting lineup." He further added, "We determined that Baek Ji-woong's style was necessary when deploying a single midfielder, and we also considered his advantage of being able to change positions during the game."

If E-land wins today, Manager Kim Do-gyun will become the 23rd manager in K League history to reach 100 career wins. On this, Manager Kim responded calmly: "I only found out yesterday. I don't consider 100 wins as something particularly important since it's a record we were bound to achieve someday."

Emphasizing composure amid the fierce battle for the top spot, Manager Kim said, "As the gap narrows, ambition grows, but we have agreed with the players not to focus on other teams' results. It is crucial to maintain our current good momentum over the remaining 11 matches. Whether we finish first or second, we will concentrate solely on achieving promotion rather than fixating on the standings."

Opponent Paju currently sits in 10th place with 24 points. They have successfully rebounded with two wins and one loss in their last three matches, gaining momentum and showing promising signs.

Before the match, Gerard Nous, Paju's manager, expressed respect for his opponent. He stated, "Seoul E-land scores many goals, plays excellent combinations, and controls many elements during the game. I believe they are one of the teams that will definitely be in K League 1 next year."

He added, "Seoul E-land currently demonstrates the style of play we aspire to on the field. As a newly formed team, we also hope to someday play like E-land does."

In their first meeting last April, Paju lost 1-3. Manager Nous said, "Our team has also grown and developed significantly over this period. Today's match, I want to settle it purely through football, without any external factors influencing the outcome."

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*This content was translated by AI.