FC Seoul put the disappointment of their weekend defeat to rivals Suwon Samsung Bluewings behind them as they recorded an emphatic 4-1 victory over Pohang Steelers this evening.
The capital club, whose 4-2 defeat in Suwon on Saturday was their sixth loss of the K-League season, were in action in a match that had been brought forward from September 18th to allow Pohang a break between their two forthcoming AFC Champions League quarter-final legs against Iranian side Zob Ahan on September 15th and 22nd. They took the lead in the 22nd minute as Lee Seung-ryul fed Choi Tae-wook for the ex-Pohang winger to score his second goal in Seoul colours. Choi then turned goal provider two minutes before the break as he set up Jung Jo-guk or his sixth of the season.
Any worries that FC Seoul may have had over where goals would come from in the absence of the suspended Dejan Damjanovic were further alleviated nine minutes after the restart as Lee Seung-ryul made it 3-0, and then an own goal from Kim Hyung-il right at the death made it four. Seol Ki-hyeon pulled a late consolation back for Pohang deep into stoppage time but the three points went north.
In the evening’s other rescheduled match, Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma went top of the table for the first time this season as their goalless draw at home to Suwon Samsung Bluewings put them above Jeju United on goal difference. Second half substitute Jo Dong-keun did have the ball in the net for Seongnam but the goal was ruled out for offside, and Suwon played the final nine minutes of the match with ten men after Yang Sang-min picked up his second yellow card of the match and was sent off.
The clash was brought forward from October 2nd as, with Seongnam and Suwon facing each other in the quarter-finals of the AFC Champions League, one side will definitely be in semi-final action on October 6th, and with Suwon in FA Cup semi-final action on September 29th it was decided to bring the match forward to the first available date to avoid any potential fixture pile-ups for either club later in the season.
K-League Results (Wednesday September 1st, 2010)
Pohang 1-4 FC Seoul
Seongnam 0-0 Suwon
