The dictionary meaning of ‘IF’ is ‘if ~ if’. <IF Reporters> started with the idea that anyone can become a professional football reporter with the slogan ‘If I become a football reporter’. <IF Reporters> with ‘Po4Two’, the ‘No.1’ football magazine that publishes the most circulation in the world, shares various football news from the K-League to the EPL and La Liga. Look forward to it! [Editor’s note]
The second 메이저놀이터moonlight derby of the season will be held between Gwangju and Daegu. In the last confrontation, which took place two years after 2021, there was a slugfest with a total of 7 goals from both teams, and this time, a firepower show is foreshadowed.
Gwangju FC and Daegu FC will play round 13 of the ‘Hanawon Q K League 1 2023’ at 4:30 pm on the 13th at the Gwangju Soccer Stadium. Currently, Gwangju is in 8th place with 14 points, and Daegu is tied with Gwangju but is in 9th place due to multiple points.
The match between the two teams is called ‘Moonlight Derby’. It is derived from the ‘moon’ of Daegu’s old name, Dalgubeol, and the ‘light’ of Gwangju’s old name, Bitgoeul, and hardened into Moonlight Derby. In the first match of the season held at DGB Daegu Bank Park on the 16th of last month, a slugfest took place where 7 goals were exchanged. The winner of the last game was Gwangju.
The home team, Gwangju, desperately needs 3 points. In the last round, FC Seoul lost 1-3 and failed to turn the atmosphere around. Heo Yul’s equalizer and his fighting spirit against the strong team, but unfortunately the result did not follow. At the beginning of the season, coach Lee Jeong-hyo’s tactics, such as quick turnover and strong forward pressure, showed Gwangju’s unique football and imprinted ‘Jeong-hyo Ball’ in the K-League 1.
Gwangju has been unable to win for nearly a month since the match against Daegu, and fell into a 5-game winless swamp. Three of the five matches were scoreless. Meet Daegu at the moment when a reversal of the atmosphere is needed. We need to move the good memories of scoring and winning in the last match to the home stadium, break the 5-game draw, and continue the 3-game winning streak against Daegu.
On the other hand, the away team, Daegu, is not in a bad mood. After the match against Gwangju, they showed good defense with 1 goal in 3 consecutive games, and even when the team’s core Sejingya was injured, they accumulated points one by one. On the 5th, Ulsan Hyundai lost 0-3 and the flow was cut off, but the atmosphere was improved with a 1-1 draw in the previous game against Pohang Steelers. It is still unclear whether Sejingya will be put in, but it is positive that the tactic of using Keita as a winger has worked.
Daegu is expected to attack Gwangju’s defense with a flank attack using Keita, as Keita succeeded in scoring in the previous match against Pohang and also scored in the last home game against Gwangju. Ko Jae-hyun, who scored multiple goals against Gwangju last time, was put into the second half against Pohang and showed active movement, so it is expected that he will show a good appearance in the Gwangju expedition.
The opponent record of the two teams is 9 wins, 5 draws and 7 losses, and Gwangju has the upper hand, and Gwangju is ahead with 3 wins and 1 loss in the recent 4 head-to-head matches. Meanwhile, Daegu and Gwangju have faced each other seven times since 2020, and there is an unusual record in which the home team lost and the away team won without a draw in all games.
Whether Gwangju will break the derby jinx by winning the home game and succeed in reversing the atmosphere, or whether Daegu will continue to win the Gwangju away game and raise the rankings again, both teams will face off on an important road to rebound.