The four participants in the K3 League championship playoffs were confirmed on a day of drama on Saturday, as defending champions Pocheon FC saw their hopes of retaining their title dashed by a last minute penalty.
Pocheon went into the final round of matches on Saturday a point ahead of third-placed Yangju Citizen knowing that they had only to equal Yangju’s result in order to reach the playoffs, and things were looking good when Lee Jung-woo put them a goal up against Seoul United at the Nowon Madeul stadium whilst Yangju were being held goalless at home to Chuncheon.
Seoul United equalised five minutes after the restart and a flurry of goal action at the Yangju Godeok stadium saw Yangju Citizen cruise to an eventual 5-0 victory. Yangju’s efforts looked to have been in vain as Seo Dong-hyun put Pocheon 2-1 ahead with ten minutes to go and as the game entered injury time it looked as if the 2009 champions would be joining Group B winners Icheon Citizen in the post-season playoffs.
A contentious handball award inside the Pocheon penalty area two minutes into injury time saw Seoul United awarded a penalty kick, and Lee Wan stepped up to slam the ball home to level the match and end Pocheon’s playoff hopes with the very last kick of the game.
The playoff positions in Group A had been decided well in advance of the final round of fixtures, however Samcheok Sinwoo Electronics rounded off their league campaign with their second consecutive defeat as they lost 1-0 at home to Yongin FC. Second-placed Gyeongju Citizen enjoyed a comfortable if modest 2-1 win against second-bottom Seoul Martyrs to round off their regular season.
Samcheok will host Yangju Citizen and Gyeongju will travel through to face Icheon in the K3 League championship playoff semi-final matches on November 6th, with the two winners facing off on a home-and-away basis on November 13th and 20th to determine the 2010 K3 League champions.
2010 K3 League Group A Final Standings
1. Samcheok 58pts
2. Gyeongju 55pts
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3. Cheongju 46pts
4. Bucheon 46pts
5. Jeonju 44pts
6. Yongin 35pts
7. Asan 22pts
8. Seoul M 8pts
9. Goyang 5pts
2010 K3 League Group B Final Standings
1. Icheon 52pts
2. Yangju 51pts
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3. Pocheon 50pts
4. Namyangju 41pts
5. Seoul Utd 38pts
6. Gwangju 36pts
7. Cheonan 29pts
8. Chuncheon 20pts
9. Chunnam 5pts
