"Title slipped away," Coach Kim Do-gyun on the painful "Wall of Suwon"... "Lacked finishing, now the goal is to hold second place" [Mokdong Field Report]

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

Kim Do-gyun (49), head coach of Seoul E-Land, expressed his bitter reaction after losing to Suwon Samsung.

Seoul E-Land lost 0-1 in their 26th-round home match against Suwon Samsung at Mokdong Stadium on the afternoon of the 12th at 4:30 p.m., as part of the "Hana Bank K League 2 2026."

Seoul E-Land's nine-game unbeaten streak (5 wins, 4 draws) was broken. They dropped to third place with 45 points (13 wins, 6 draws, 6 losses), surrendering second place to Daegu FC. Meanwhile, Suwon continued their nine-game unbeaten run (6 wins, 3 draws), moving into first place with 53 points (16 wins, 5 draws, 4 losses), seven points ahead of second-place Daegu FC.

Seoul E-Land failed to overcome Suwon at home, missing a chance to close in on the top spot and falling to third. After conceding an early goal from Duvitskas in the first half, they raised their possession rate using goalkeeper Min Sung-jun's saves as a springboard for a counterattack. However, despite leading the attack in the second half, they could not find an equalizer as Park Jae-yong's header struck the post in the 16th minute of the second half, resulting in a narrow defeat.

After the match, Coach Kim Do-gyun said, "Many fans came to support us, and I am truly sorry as a coach that we could not repay them with a victory." He added, "The conceded goal we feared did happen, which is regrettable, but our players gave their all until the final whistle in order to win the game."

He continued, "I feel responsible as a coach for our inability to score. It seems our dream of winning the title has slipped a bit further away. We must regroup and, whether we end up second or third, play out every remaining match faithfully while looking ahead."

Regarding the reasons for the shaky defense in the early stages, he explained, "I believe it is somewhat related to the players' experience and ability levels. There were a few mistakes during the goalkeeper's build-up process in the opening phase that caused instability, but after conceding the goal, the players seemed to find their composure."

He expressed deep regret over failing to score despite launching a relentless offensive assault in the second half. Coach Kim stated, "We prepared for one week specifically for situations where we might be losing, and we used all our planned substitutions and formation changes during the second half. In the end, although there were several shots on target, no goals came through. The lack of final finishing ability is what I regret most."

On the subject of 18-year-old rookie An Ju-wan receiving jeers from away fans every time he touched the ball, Kim said, "An Ju-wan is young, so he may have been mentally shaken or overly excited. Even in K League 2, there is a clear difference in performance when facing high-level teams compared to weaker ones."

He added, "Our team faces a similar situation. Suwon is one of the highest-level teams in K League 2, and we need to find more ways to express ourselves against such opponents and overcome them. Today, that aspect was lacking overall."

He also reaffirmed his determination for the upcoming match against second-place Daegu FC. Coach Kim emphasized, "The top-ranked Suwon will likely have a very advantageous position in terms of focus, but regardless, we must win the next game and strive to reach as close to second place as possible."

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original