WK League News

Hwacheon KSPO have dialled up the pressure on WK League leaders Suwon FC, narrowing the gap at the top of the table with a home win against Incheon in their postponed Round 11 match yesterday.

Suwon, having only managed a draw against eighth-placed Gangjin Swans at the weekend, still have a five point lead over KSPO, but the defending champions have a game in hand. The two teams are comfortably ahead of the rest of the field, with several teams scrapping for third place, but there’s still all to play for, with only the top spot guaranteeing a place in the WK League championship final.

Last night’s defeat was the fifth in a row for Hur Jungjae’s Incheon Hyundai Steel Red Angels, currently in sixth place, and with a shot at the championship playoff looking increasingly unlikely. Still, the eleven-time WK League champions didn’t make it easy for their opponents. With several key players returning from injury, the Red Angels created plenty of attacking opportunities but ultimately, and frustratingly, failed to convert. Wie Jae-eun’s late winner for KSPO was the only goal of the match.

At the final whistle, Incheon players dropped to the ground with expressions of disappointment, anger, and dejection, and understandably so — they came so close to nicking a point against one of the strongest teams in the league, but instead, they return to the Incheon Namdong Asiad with nothing. The side hasn’t won a match in almost two months, and with other playoff hopefuls on better form, the Red Angels are on course for their worst ever WK League finish. Incheon have only finished outside of the playoff spots once before, in 2024, when they came fourth in the league.

Manager Hur and his squad still have a chance to rescue their season in the form of the inaugural W Korea Cup. Incheon face fellow WK League side Mungyeong Sangmu in the second round of the competition on Monday 24th August. Sangmu are currently in fourth place in the league, close behind Gyeongju KHNP in the playoff race. If the military team manages to surpass their provincial rivals by the end of the season, it would be their best ever WK League finish.