Round 7 - Daegu FC, Gangwon FC and Ulsan HD managers come under pressure

Gimcheon keep up the good form while the main talking point is how others struggle

Several managers are already feeling the early-season heat, and it was after exactly seven rounds last season that Daegu FC pulled the trigger on then-manager Choi Won-kwon. Ironically, Daegu find themselves in a similar position again, as the memory of their first two wins quickly fades. Four straight losses and five games without a win are piling the pressure on current boss Park Chang-hyun. Park’s Daegu lost 2-0 at in-form Gimcheon Sangmu this past weekend.

He’s not the only one in the hot seat. Less than a year into the job—and with the lucrative FIFA Club World Cup on the horizon—Ulsan HD’s Kim Pan-gon has struggled to get his younger Ulsan side firing this season. Three games without a win feels like a lifetime for the reigning champions, who were held to a goalless draw at home by FC Seoul—undoubtedly the happier of the two sides.

Joining those coaches under pressure is another recent appointment, Chung Kyung-ho, who took extreme measures this week by shaving his head—something former Suwon Bluewings boss Kim Byung-soo also did just one game before being sacked during their ill-fated 2023 K League 1 campaign. Gangwon FC’s struggles are plain to see, with another goalless outing and, worse still, a 2-0 defeat that handed FC Anyang their first-ever home win in K League 1.

Elsewhere, Gwangju FC didn’t even need their influential manager Lee Jung-hyo—serving a two-match suspension—on the bench. They ran out 1-0 winners over Jeju SK. Meanwhile, Gus Poyet has turned his own fortunes around with back-to-back clean sheets and away wins, this time against league leaders Daejeon Hana Citizen, who crash back down to earth after their thrilling 3-2 midweek win over Ulsan HD.

somePhoto by Nguyen Thu Hoai on Unsplash

Goal of the Round

Choi Gyu-hyun (FC Anyang)

Opened his K1 account and got his team their first ever home K1 win with a spectacular controlled volley to break the deadlock in the 84th minute following a headed clearance from a corner kick.

Player of the Round

Reis (Gwangju FC)