2020 Week 11 is today - the midway point of this most unusual season. But first, go behind the scenes and see Incheon's new clubhouse that Hyundai built for the team this year. How the rich live! WARNING: it's depressingly swanky - almost as nice as my house! How will the players of the No. 1 Korean women's soccer league live? (Feat. Lee Min-a, Jang Sel-gi) - from Dong Go football channel Ten weeks gone, and here's the table: Incheon Red Angels 28pts, Gyeongju KHNP 21, Suwon WFC 18, Changnyeong WFC 13, Hwacheon KSPO 12, Sejong Sportstoto 11, Seoul 5, Boeun 4 In week 10, Incheon march on, a hat-trick for their number 11, Neném (result 4-0 at Sejong). The Brazilian is the find of the year so far, the right-mid increasingly drifts inside to finish the scoring moves. She and Eli Del Estal each have 5 goals now. Gyeongju stay 2nd, grinding out a 2-0 win over Hwacheon KSPO, a great opener by Seo Ji-yeon (80') then a free-kick by Park Ye-eun. Suwon (3rd) looked a little unambitious, wasting time v Boeun when 1-0 up, and as mentioned, a penalty could've altered it. Late on, Yeo Min-ji made it 2-0 on a breakaway, her 5th goal of the year. Still, Boeun is the team that brings the most valuable #content www.youtube.com/watch?v=41SA6dXGfCI And moving up are Changnyeong (4th) in their third season in the lergue - the club jumped 2 places with a home win over Seoul, who scored first, but the game turned around with not one supersub, but two: Changnyeong WFC 2 - 1 Seoul Shin Ye-rim 75', Choi Ji-na 81' / Jang Chang 5' www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvDeUIPIxcA ▶ Week 11, it's starting... All the games are live today (Monday), the extra online coverage an unexpected effect of the crowd restrictions. With Suwon moving ahead in that 3rd playoff place, today's visitors Hwacheon KSPO (5th) really need a result. That game is live at 09.00 GMT / 18.00 KST, which seems to be the new standard kickoff time this year. Aside from that, Changnyeong v Incheon, can they stop the juggernaut?, also Sejong v Boeun, and Seoul v Gyeongju. @blissett, I'll do a Nadeshiko thread update next week when the two leagues' games don't clash, but Madoka Haji's social media page has a weekly update for Japanese fans, and graphic design that is giving me '90s flashbacks www.twitter.com/mdk__14/status/1292419526097661952
Thank you very much: I won't post it myself until you'll do next week, but I like that "Japanese" update a lot.
Typhoon Jangmi brought the worst wet weather I've ever seen a match proceed in, which stopped Incheon's fast flowing football in the 1st half in the south at Changnyeong. But after half-time when the pitch was cleared a little, the champions ran out with a win, 1-0 (Lim Seon-Joo 71'). youtube.com/watch?v=bGIgQ0pWlMY&t=1h29m30s Changnyeong were knocked down to 6th with another loss, 5-1 at Gyeongju. Hwacheon KSPO won two important games to take 4th place, presenting themselves as the main challenger to last year's 3 playoff teams. In the rain, KSPO got a dramatic away victory at Suwon (3rd) with Fumina Katsurama on target twice including a stunning matchwinner: youtube.com/watch?v=2dYFsrpJ_30&t=1h49m15s More worrying, a coronavirus test postponed the Hwacheon v Sejong game (week 12) because a player had fever. Pending a negative test, the match was scheduled 24 hours later, and it did go ahead on Tuesday 1 Sep: Hwacheon 2 - 0 Sejong Sportstoto Nathane 3', Lee Sae-um 82'p youtube.com/watch?v=9sc_SS3F0Pc&t=2h12m14s One win for a Sejong team during the WK-League break in August - the Queen's National Women's Football Competition final, with the past two Korean college champions: Daeduk University 0 - 3 Korea University Sejong ~Oh Hye-bin 34', Cho Mi-jin 51', Song Bo-ram 67' (오혜빈, 조미진, 송보람) youtube.com/watch?v=XsDX51mqFms ▶ Today, 7 Sep, another typhoon could affect the league's week 13 games - in particular Suwon (3rd) at Changnyeong (6th). If it goes ahead, there's a rare early kickoff, Sejong v Seoul (07:30 GMT / 16:30 KST). And then, it's the season's second match between the top two clubs: Incheon Red Angels v Gyeongju KHNP (09:00 GMT / 18:00 KST) www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQzrCZkvp1M
Week 13: What a result, Incheon's first home defeat for more than 3 years. Just like in July 2017, it's Gyeongju who dealt a blow to the champions. Defending resolutely, the away side KHNP made fewer but better chances, and broke the deadlock when midfielder Kang Yu-mi scored (70'). With the last kick of the game, they added a breakaway goal by Josée Nahi (95'), 2-0 at the end. Rain affected the play, as in other recent games for both teams, but Gyeongju could hardly dream of more against this opponent: 2 matches, 4 points, and 2 clean sheets (GK Kim Ye-rin replaced Yoon Young-geul this time). They have another difficult away game on Thursday...
Also, Monday marked the likely end of the line for two teams' playoff challenge: Sejong Sportstoto (5th) and Changnyeong (6th). The former lost at home to Seoul, 0-1, while the latter hosted Suwon - in an exciting game unaffected by the previous bad weather, CWFC did well to level the scores at 2-2, but Suwon's Kim Yun-ji delivered a knockout blow in the 93rd minute. Changnyeong 2 - 3 Suwon Son Hwa-yeon 41', Choi Ji-na 56' / Lee Hyun-young 13', Moon Mi-ra 30', Kim Yun-ji 93' www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVlg9mOQhRY That gives us a very unusual state in this league - a clear top 4 teams, with a symmetry in their form guides (check the top 4 vs bottom 4). And an unthinkable stat last year when so many games were tied: not a single draw for five weeks! - (Soccerway) Hwacheon negotiated a tricky away trip at last-placed Boeun, nonetheless a hard team to beat there - KSPO won it 1-0 when DF Go You-jin scored (81'). They have a different proposition today, Thursday, in their top-4 clash, and at Suwon it's 3rd v 2nd, both games live: Suwon v Gyeongju KHNP (09:00 GMT, 18:00 KST) www.youtube.com/watch?v=tepWy0WsB6E Hwacheon KSPO v Incheon Red Angels www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruW3hBOz7YM Suwon's captain last year, No.7 Kim Soo-yun, celebrated her 200th appearance for the club this season. - (AAWF/Sportalkorea)
I don't wanna bother people for old posts, but this is just wrong.. Brazil finished 3rd in the little-known 1999 Women's World Cup & Ref Disaster, and they reached the final in 2007, which was both a defensive disaster and very very funny www.youtube.com/watch?v=3M2K1BuG67E
This is always the right thread It was about WK-League players from Brazil - there are always some (this year's are Neném and Nathane). And of course, last year, Beatriz/Bia scored those goals for her national team, then she shouted "gamsahamnida!" (...if that's what you're meant to shout?)
6 weeks to go... Weeks 14–15: Headline news 6 wins in a row for Gyeongju: The KHNP club has struggled for consistency since it began in 2017, but it has never won as many consecutive games as now - even in its near-title-winning year of 2018. The Ivorians are the key, or they certainly were in these close wins for the 2nd-place club. Ines Nrehy gave them the three points at Suwon, and then, Nrehy and Josee Nahi scored in a 2-1 home win over Sejong. Suwon 0 - 1 Gyeongju - (Nrehy 35') www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8jrkqP5rwA Hwacheon KSPO so near, yet so far: In the 3rd-place race, Suwon are still leading by 2 points (and +13 goals), and Hwacheon missed their chance to draw level on points. The 4th-place club Hwacheon got nothing out of a dominant Incheon, who won their game 5-0 away (a hat-trick for Choi Yoo-jung). Then, Hwacheon were held 1-1 by Seoul, another good result for the struggling capital club - but it does nothing for KSPO's playoff chances, and they have harder fixtures coming up. Incheon back to winning ways: After their loss in week 13, the champs got the aforementioned 5-0, and a home 3-1 over Suwon, which could have been more. Jang Sel-gi was on the mark with two early goals after Eli del Estal's opener - for Suwon, Yeo Min-ji poached a goal to stay equal top-scorer on 7 this season. www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIcRvcs61EY Coach gets angry: Remember this? It's happening again! Sadly for Lee, this time the ref came prepared. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8XyZ05khnk&t=4m18s ...My favourite part is someone's polite applause for the red card! Final score was Boeun 0 - 3 Changnyeong (Nanase Kiryu 48', 85', Choi Ji-na 82'), but the visitors were very lucky at 0-1 with that soft disallowed header. 6 games remain - the table makes for interesting reading once more - (Soccerway) Week 16 (Monday) has already begun with Sejong Sportstoto v Suwon, an important one for the away side to win. And the three later games (09:00 GMT / 18:00 KST) include a 5th v 4th, Changnyeong v Hwacheon. There's the derby game Seoul v Incheon, and the high-flying Gyeongju have a possible banana-skin match at Boeun Sangmu, the only team to beat them this season.
Gyeongju reached 10 out of 10, ten wins in succession! It's only the 3rd time a team has achieved that in the league's first twelve years - Incheon surpassed it, as you might expect, with 13 wins in a row in 2019, but the record by far belongs to Goyang Daeyko (later Icheon Daekyo), when the Kangaroos won 23 matches: 7 at the end of season 2010 when they just missed the final, and 16 more the following year, on their way to the 2011 title. All in all, it was 26 games undefeated. (*Note: according to Soccerway!) So, the 2nd-place team put their record on the line on Monday, in the penultimate match of the regular season. A preview of the championship game? Week 20: Gyeongju KHNP v Incheon Red Angels 2020 WK리그 한수원축구단 VS 인천현대제철 생중계 www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJ-9sMsir8U&t=31m
Weeks 16–20: One more match, then it's playoff time. The results threw us some fascinating stories going into today's regular season finale. Hwacheon KSPO (4th) seemed down and out with two bad results, then they won three in a row, especially importantly, a home win over Suwon WFC (3rd) with Yoshimi Natsuki's neat finish Hwacheon 1 - 0 Suwon www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAQPhITg98U An exciting set of games on Monday, week 20, saw Suwon lose momentum again, losing a 1-0 lead, and losing for a second time in 3 games. Suwon would have guaranteed 3rd place for the playoffs with a win, but Changnyeong showed resolve - they've had a great season in 5th, after coming last in 2019. Suwon 1 - 2 Changnyeong WFC Lee Hyun-young 12' / Choi Ji-na 26, Nanase Kiryu 54' www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbExSose81I At the same time, Hwacheon's playoff hope would've been over if it had stayed 1-1 against Boeun after Han A-reum's equalizer, but KSPO forward Yoon Da-kyeong hit a deflected shot from a crazy angle to win it, 2-1. Army club Boeun will finish last by a long way with an awful record, but they rarely played awfully, beat the best team of the moment, and the captain, attacking mid Kwon Ha-neul, was impressive in every game I saw. Presumably they struggle to attract players with the roster rules... In 6th, Sejong started 2020 well, but fell away and have lost 7 of their past 9 games. Choi Yu-ri has stood out as a talented but temperamental midfielder. The 7th-place club Seoul are somewhat consigned to lower-table status, but they made life difficult for a few opponents. 1 match to go in the regular season - the top of the table has a look that barely seemed possible in recent seasons. The end of term should be a celebration - although one of the top 4 clubs will end up disappointed today - so I'll post all the live matches today, as we bid some clubs adieu for 2020. Today's early game is kicking off soon: Week 21: Sejong Sportstoto v Changnyeong WFC - Thurs 15 Oct 2020 (07:30 GMT / 16:30 KST) 21R l 세종스포츠토토 vs 창녕WFC – 2020.10.15 www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHKMIZauHok
2nd v 3rd is a great way to finish the league games, and these two may meet again in the knockout playoff on 9 Nov. The home side are chasing 12 wins in a row, while Suwon could guarantee 3rd place with an away victory today, but both teams will keep an eye on live developments at Incheon too. Week 21: Gyeongju KHNP v Suwon WFC - Thurs 15 Oct 2020 (09:00 GMT / 18:00 KST) 21R l 경주한수원 vs 수원도시공사 – 2020.10.15 www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLiJp87lIh0
And the Red Angels, who seemed infallible, are left needing the three points to secure 1st place and reach the final directly again. Hwacheon require an almighty upset win if they want to overtake into 3rd place. Week 21: Incheon Red Angels v Hwacheon KSPO 21R l 인천현대제철 vs 화천KSPO – 2020.10.15 www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwzDtVy9hcI
Quite a big turnaround for the last-placed Boeun, with a thrashing of Seoul in their final match. No video, but Boeun had certainly merited a second win this season. As in their 4-2 victory at Gyeongju in the rainstorm, captain Kwon was in the goals, but no hat-trick this time, just a goal either side of half-time. The club finish the season on 7 points, Seoul have 13. Week 21: Boeun Sangmu 4 - 0 Seoul Kim Min-soo 6', Kwon Ha-neul 38', 52', Sim Hyo-jeong 71' Match info (KWFF.or.kr) / Photo gallery
One week until the playoff, and they'll be there on 9 Nov... Gyeongju VLOG: with GK Yoon Young-geul Week 21: Gyeongju get full points yet again, 1-0 (Seo Ji-yeon 86'), and now it's a 12-match winning run. Suwon gave some scares and will hope to beat the odds in the playoff showdown, as they did in 2019. Incheon top the table for the 8th season to reach the final - Hwacheon's season was ended by a 2-0 loss at Incheon. Playoff: Gyeongju v Suwon, 9 Nov (09:00 GMT / 18:00 KST). The teams have more preparation time than usual, but an away win would be a huge upset this year. It would also prevent an Incheon-Gyeongju final that feels almost destined to happen. The Final is a 2-leg tie on Thu 12 Nov + Mon 16 Nov. Goalscorers of 2020: The season's best is Choi Ji-na (Changnyeong WFC) with 10 goals in 16 games. Next on the list with 9 goals are Kim Sang-eun (Sejong), Yeo Min-ji (Suwon), Kang Chae-rim (Incheon) and Kwon Ha-neul (Boeun)! And Incheon obviously have plenty of markswomen: all with 8 goals, Eli Del Estal, Jang Sel-gi and Choi Yoo-jung. It was a tough task for Eli this year, replacing Bia as the main woman in attack. Also interesting that Gyeongju did so well with no major goalscorer, and the team averaging just 2 goals per game. One Incheon player had a good international break - Jang Sel-gi was Korea's player of the match and scored the goal in a 1-0 win over their bitter rivals, the women's U20 squad. The second game was 2-0 for Colin Bell's team.
Today: The winner will host the final 1st leg on Thursday, against Incheon. Looking back, these were some previous playoffs of 2nd v 3rd. It's the third year in a row that Gyeongju and Suwon have met in this match, but who'll prevail this time? Playoff:2014: Goyang Daekyo 1 - 0 Seoul WFC 2015: Icheon Daekyo 2 - 1 Suwon FMC 2016: Icheon Daekyo 2 - 0 Gumi Sportstoto 2017: Icheon Daekyo 1 - 2 Hwacheon KSPO * Icheon's last match before disbandment2018: Gyeongju KHNP 2 - 0 Suwon WFC 2019: Gyeongju KHNP 0 - 2 Suwon WFC youtube.com/watch?v=KLmGbboqk14 ⬤ ⬤ Here's the live link, and the squads Gyeongju KHNP v Suwon WFC Mon 9 Nov, 09:00 GMT, 18:00 KST www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xjA4M1TFYg
The highlights: Playoff match reports: KWFF (Archive) / Sportsw.kr (Archive) Match stats: KWFF.or.kr ⬤ And so, Gyeongju will go into their final battle, beginning on Thursday. Can they win their first title in the team's fourth season? Quietly it seems they've built a side that is comparable to the current champions, without the razzmatazz and maybe with less money, though I don't know about the companies funding them both. (I think Gyeongju are linked to a men's K-League 3 club?) Gyeongju's Josée Nahi is usually attacking in front of goal, but in the playoff, she was the provider this time. The Ivorian international crossed for Seo Ji-yeon to score. ⬤ In the final, Incheon's Red Angels visit Gyeongju for the 1st leg on Thursday. The match has the makings of a classic - though this final would need to excel to beat 2018's emotional rollercoaster. Incheon are defending the crown and aiming for their 8th title in a row, but they haven't beaten Gyeongju this year. Also, with the playoff win, Gyeongju have (I believe) equalled Incheon's longest run of 13 wins in 13 games, so each side has one more thing to defend in the 1st leg tomorrow. Not sure if it's down to match-sharpness or fatigue, but the finals in 2018 and 2019 didn't go Incheon's way in the first game, with a 0-3 loss at Gyeongju and a 0-0 draw at Suwon. Each time, Incheon took the advantage only in the home 2nd leg. If they retain the title they could become, as writer Lee Beom-jun called it, "Bayern Munich in Incheon?". Incheon's Lee Min-a celebrated her birthday this week, she's 30 in Korea but only 29 in full years, which has filled in my lack of knowledge of birthday year customs. (important) She was also honoured with three Full Decade Candles, those things are very expensive.
Wow, very interesting, both because of the fact that Lee Min-A is one of my favourite Korean players (and it's a shame that injuries plagued her stint at INAC Kobe Leonessa in Japan) and because it's very interesting to know that Korean count the years in a somehow similar way to what ancient Latins were doing. In ancient Rome, you could choose to tell your age in either of two ways: by saying how many years "natus" you were (basically how many "full years" had you lived so far) or which year you were "agens" (which year of your live you were currently living: basically, a newborn is 0 years, but he's currently living his first year of life). Of course, Koreans add even more complication by the count of the solar year! But I anyway like very much this unexpected convergence between Koreans and ancient Latins.
So, how many years in a row have Incheon won? ⬤ ⬤ Here goes! 2020 Final - 1st leg Gyeongju KHNP v Incheon Red Angels Thurs 12 Nov, 09:00 GMT, 18:00 KST www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUt8N_wRRDs
...oh, they've swapped the two match links. Right link for the 1st leg: www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGzzc5uXj64
Well, that was draining! 1st leg highlights: www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZoIS5WFAZU 1st leg report: KWFF (Archive) / Joongboo.com (Archive) Match stats: KWFF ⬤ ⬤ As seen in 2018, there's no away-goals rule - to win the championship, a team must win today, even if it takes extra time & penalties. 2020 Final - 2nd leg Incheon Red Angels v Gyeongju KHNP Mon 16 Nov, 09:00 GMT, 18:00 KST www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUt8N_wRRDs Incheon's big-match experience was made to count in the first game - the club has been in every final since 2009. They lost 4 and then won 7 in a row, and now...?
2020 Final 2nd leg Highlights: - Report on Hankyung.com (Archive) 8 in a row! Will this team ever give up the title? It was another very tense match - goalless for 75 minutes, with a first-half flurry by Gyeongju of 7 shots to Incheon's 2. But in the final stages, Eli Del Estal made her most important contribution of the year, an assist and a goal, and she won her first champion's medal. What could Gyeongju have done better? They made the chances, but some of their choices to pass and not shoot were costly. When she entered as sub, Josée Nahi's attitude of shoot-on-sight was more appropriate for a final against an Incheon defence that's never been perfect. Also, what the Queen of the Match, Del Estal, said: "I think we won because we were mentally stronger. It is difficult to explain, but before the game I was sure we were going to win". The home advantage, and Incheon's many past title wins there, would make it easier for them to visualize. Coach Jeong Seong-cheon credits the win to experienced players like the goalkeeper Kim Jung-mi. If Incheon could win a 9th or 10th it would feel like a real achievement, after Gyeongju went so close twice now. The 2nd-place KHNP club have retained Nahi and Nrehy for the upcoming 2021 season and will hope to be in the title fight again. KFA women's Player of the Year 2020 is Jang Sel-gi, a richly deserved award. (img: Malrite, cc-by-sa) Hoping to follow in her footsteps, 21 new players joined the league from the university draft in December. The first pick, Korean youth striker Moon Eun-ju, was signed by Hwacheon KSPO; full list on the KWFF site.
You can never say: in Japan, Beleza had to give up this year after 5 consecutive titles, but of course, with 8 in a row, it looks like we're more in OL territory. Anyway, I guess we can say that this season there was more tight competition, can't we?
The gap of 1 point at the top of the table was astounding, I never expected that – Gyeongju dropped several points early in the season, which ended up giving Incheon 1st place, as they went 100% v the rest of the teams (3rd to 8th), beating them 3 times each. It also makes me see the magnitude of Lyon's achievement: 14 titles seems a dull procession, but they had to keep defeating everyone including a world-class PSG team. If the rest of the WK-League could take points from Incheon enough to threaten their 1st place, that'd be groundbreaking, but I can't quite imagine it yet - partly because the other title challenger could also drop more points. Maybe sometimes a dominant team is more at risk from one strong rival than from several of them? (if they all beat each other...) From the AFC, there was a communiqué last April the 1st but I guess legit, about gathering data for possible future Asian Women's Club Championships with more countries involved. So, the mighty Reds of Incheon against, uh, the mighty Reds of Urawa? One of them will need to change kit.