‘Lewis hat-trick’ lifts K League 2 Gimpo to 5th place
Gimpo FC moved up one spot to fifth place in the K League Two after a Lewis hat trick.
Gimpo defeated Seongnam FC 4-2 in the 29th round of the Hana OneQ K League 2 2023 at Tancheon Sports Complex on March 30.
Gimpo, who had drawn both of their previous two matches against Seongnam, took a step forward in their head-to-head record with the victory.
Gimpo (45 points), which snapped a two-game losing streak and picked up three points, moved into fifth place, ahead of Anyang FC (42 points), which lost to Chungbuk Cheongju FC (7th – 39 points) in sixth place.
Seongnam, who also lost, remained in ninth place with 33 points.
Seongnam took the lead in the third minute of the first half when Kwon Soon-hyung capitalized on a Gimpo mistake.
After receiving a backpass, Gimpo goalkeeper Lee Sang-wook tried to kick it forward with his right foot, but the ball hit the legs of Seongnam’s Lee Jong-ho, who was under pressure, and floated high in the air in the box, and Kwon Soon-hyung, who had rushed in from the back, wasted no time in connecting with his right foot to take the lead.
Seongnam extended their lead in the 21st minute of the second half when Gabriel’s cross from the right flank was met with a precise header by Munjeon’s Patrick.
However, Gimpo, with Lewis’ toes on fire, pulled off the upset.
In the 25th minute, Pablo floated a pass near the left goal line to Lewis at the back post, who rattled the top of the net with a non-stop left-footed shot.
In the 36th minute, Kim Yi-seok’s cross from the right flank was headed in by Kim Jong-min, and from the rebounded second ball that beat the keeper, Lewis slotted home with his left foot to equalize.
With momentum on their side, Gimpo came from behind five minutes later when Lewis converted from the penalty spot to complete his hat-trick.
Then, in second-half stoppage time, Kim Sung-min’s right-footed mid-range shot hit the post and Kim Jong-seok, who had found himself on the doorstep, slotted home the second ball with his right foot for the fourth goal.
At the Mokdong Sports Complex, Seoul Eland FC earned a 1-0 win over Jeonnam thanks to a dramatic late goal from Cha Seung-hyun in stoppage time.
After 11 games without a win against Jeonnam, Lee Land added a valuable victory to their collection.
With the three points, Lee Land moved up to 10th place (W9 D5 L13) with 32 points, knocking Chungnam Asan (W30) down to 11th.
Jeonnam (37 points) dropped one place to eighth, losing the seventh spot to Chungbuk Cheongju FC, who beat Anyang.
The hosts enjoyed 61 percent of the ball possession through the first 15 minutes, and Jeonnam responded with a counter-attack.
However, both teams struggled with their passing, and shots on goal were few and far between.
With the score tied at 0-0, both teams continued to knock on the opponent’s door in the second half, creating multiple chances to score the decisive goal.
It was Lee Land who scored the final goal after a series of super saves by goalkeeper Moon Jung-in.
In the second half of added time, a deflected ball from the Jeonnam defense rushed into the box and Cha Seung-hyun connected nonstop with his right foot, sending the ball past the goalkeeper and into the corner of the opposite goal.
Lee Land was able to defend Cha Seung-hyun’s early goal to the end to seal the victory.
At the Cheongju Sports Complex, Chungbuk Cheongju defeated Anyang 2-1 to move up one spot to seventh place.
Including the win, Chungbuk Cheongju have won their last seven games and drawn five, extending their unbeaten streak to 12 matches.
Anyang could have leapfrogged into third place with a win, but instead slipped one spot to sixth after being held off by Chungbuk Cheongju.
In a “water battle” that saw puddles of water form all over the turf amidst the rain, Chungbuk Cheongju and Anyang finished the first half 0-0.
Chungbuk Cheongju scored the first goal in the 17th minute of the second half when Georgi survived a scuffle with the opposing defense and scored with his left foot.
In the 48th minute, Jeong Min-woo added a second goal to seal the win.
Anyang could only manage a point through Gong Min-hyun’s header just before the end of the match. 토토사이트