National League side Cheonan City celebrated their first tournament victory since they were founded at the end of 2007 as they defeated Incheon Korail to win gold for South Chungcheong province at the 91st National Sports Festival on Tuesday.
As in recent years, the football section of the 2010 National Sports Festival saw competitions played at high school, university and club level in both the men’s and women’s tournaments, and thirteen of the sixteen provinces and administrative cities of South Korea were represented in the men’s club section by clubs from the National League and K3 League.
Cheonan City, who initially received a bye to the second round of the tournament, defeated 2009 gold medal winners Busan Transportation Corporation 1-0 on Saturday before edging out Daejeon Hydro & Nuclear Power by the same scoreline in Sunday’s semi-final. Their opponents in the final, Incheon Korail, also received a bye to the second round and earned their spot in the final by eliminating Mokpo City 2-1 and then trouncing Ulsan Mipo Dockyard 4-1 in the semis.
The final, held at Namhae Sports Park on Tuesday afternoon, finished 2-2 at the end of the regulation ninety minutes and Cheonan City held their nerve in the resultant penalty shootout to emerge victorious by a scoreline of 5-4 and claim the gold medal for their province.
The three K3 League sides who saw action in the tournament all exited at the first round stage. Yangju Citizen, who surprised many by defeating National League sides Ansan Hallelujah, Yongin City and Suwon City to earn the right to represent Gyeonggi province at the tournament, went down 4-1 in the tournament’s opening match against Daejeon HNP. Cheongju Jikji lost 2-1 to Ulsan Mipo Dockyard on the second day, whilst Gyeongju Citizen exited after a 3-2 defeat to Goyang Kookmin Bank.
Daekyo Kangaroos picked up gold for South Gyeongsang Province in the women’s club tournament as they defeated Seoul City 2-1 in the final. Konkuk University defeated Honam University to win gold for North Chungcheong province in the men’s university tournament whilst Gwangyang Jecheol High School were winners in the men’s high school competition, defeating Seoul’s Janghoon High School 5-4 on penalties after a goalless draw. A great deal of media attention focused on the 2010 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup’s best player and golden ball winner Yeo Min-ji who was competing for in the women’s high school tournament with Haman Daesan High School, however she had to settle for the silver medal as her team lost 3-0 to Gyeonggi province’s Osan Information High School in the final.
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Medal Winners at the 91st National Sports Festival Football Competition
Men’s high school: Gwangyang Jecheol High School (South Jeolla Province)
Men’s university section: Konkuk University (North Chungcheong Province)
Men’s club section: Cheonan City (South Chungcheong Province)
Women’s high school section: Osan Information High School (Gyeonggi Province)
Women’s club section: Daekyo Kangaroos (South Gyeongsang Province)
91st National Sports Festival Men’s Club Section Results
First Round (Sangju Hallyeohaesang sports park, Namhae – Oct 6 & 7)
Yangju Citizen 1-4 Daejeon HNP
Busan TC 2-0 Chungju Hummel
Gyeongju Citizen 2-3 Goyang KB
Ulsan Mipo 2-1 Cheongju Jikji
Gangneung City 2-3 Mokpo City
Second Round (Sangju Hallyeohaesang sports park, Namhae – Oct 9)
Changwon City 2-5 Daejeon HNP
Cheonan City 1-0 Busan TC
Goyang KB 0-0 Ulsan Mipo (Ulsan Mipo won 10-9 on penalties)
Incheon Korail 2-1 Mokpo City
Semi-finals (Namhae Sports Park – Oct 10)
Daejeon HNP 0-1 Cheonan City
Ulsan Mipo 1-4 Incheon Korail
Final (Namhae Sports Park – Oct 12)
Cheonan City 2-2 Incheon Korail (Cheonan won 5-4 on penalties)
