K League 1’s top-six race resumes
Back from the international break, K League 1 is reigniting the race for the Final A top-six split with three regular-season rounds left. As of Oct. 8, leaders FC Seoul are followed by Ulsan HD (47 points), Jeju SK (46), Jeonbuk Hyundai (44) and Gangwon FC (43) in second through fifth. Sixth-placed Daejeon Hana Citizen and seventh-placed Pohang Steelers are level on 40 points, the cut line for Final A, with Incheon United (39) and FC Anyang (38) right behind, leaving just two points between sixth and ninth. Rounds 31-33 still feature eight head-to-head clashes among the second- to ninth-placed teams, including Daejeon-Jeonbuk, Incheon-Pohang, Jeonbuk-Jeju and Pohang-Anyang, so the Final A spots may not be decided until the last round.
Source: Sports Kyunghyang
Four nominated for Player of the Month
The Korea Professional Football League announced on Oct. 8 its four nominees for the September EA SPORTS Player of the Month award: Lee Myung-jae (Daejeon Hana Citizen), Lee Yu-hyeon (Gangwon FC), Ítalo (Jeju SK) and Klimala (FC Seoul). The award covers K League 1 Rounds 27-30 plus the postponed Round 22 match between Gangwon and Incheon. Left-back Lee Myung-jae had one goal and three assists in four games and made the Team of the Round three times, while Lee Yu-hyeon recorded one assist in five games. Ítalo had two goals and an assist in four games and was named Round 30 MVP after his winner against Gangwon, and Klimala scored three goals in four games. The winner is decided by combining the technical committee vote (60%), fan vote (25%) and FC Online user vote (15%), with fan voting open until Oct. 11.
Source: Money Today
Gimcheon return home amid big turnover
Gimcheon Sangmu will host FC Anyang in K League 1 Round 31 at Gimcheon Stadium at 4:30 p.m. on Oct. 10, their first home game in about a month, aiming for a second straight win. Around the international break, however, 14 new conscripts from the 13th intake joined while 13 players from the 10th intake were discharged, meaning regulars such as captain Lee Jung-taek, full-backs Park Cheol-woo and Kim Tae-hwan, and top scorer Ko Jae-hyeon are gone and changes are unavoidable. Still, the team’s spine remains intact, with goalkeeper Park Man-ho, center-backs Byeon Jun-soo, Kim Min-gyu and Kim Hyun-woo, midfielders Park Tae-joon and Lee Kang-hyun, and forwards Jung Jae-min and Lee Sang-heon, while the newcomers from the 13th intake will also be pushing for minutes.
Source: Sportal Korea