Gimpo FC finally broke its winless streak. Gimpo earned a 2-1 victory over Gimcheon Commerce in the 21st round of the Hana OneQ K League 2 2023 at Gimpo Solter Soccer Field on Friday. After failing to secure a win in their last six matches with three draws and three losses, Gimpo added three points in seven games. Gimpo turned the tide once again, knocking off second-place Gimcheon, who were riding a franchise-record four-game winning streak.
After jumping out to a surprise lead in the standings by going unbeaten in their first 12 matches, Gimpo have faltered of late. They haven’t won in six games and have dropped to mid-table. Their trademark “salty” defense, which has conceded the fewest goals in the league (12), is still there, but the goals just aren’t coming. During the summer transfer window, Gimpo sold Lewis outright, who had attracted interest from several K League 1 clubs. In a Gimpo jersey this season, Lewis has scored eight goals, leading the Gimpo offense.
However, after the move, Lewis suffered a goal drought. He scored just one goal during Gimpo’s six-match winless streak. Gimpo head coach Ko Jung-woon said it wasn’t just Lewis. “There’s nothing wrong with Lewis’ play,” he said. He’s just being closely guarded. There are no players around him to help him, so the pressure on him is bound to increase,” he lamented.
Against Gimcheon, Ko took the bold step of removing Lewis from the starting lineup. His partner, Pablo, was not even on the roster. He went with other strikers. The strategy worked beautifully. Yoon Min-ho opened the scoring in the 34th minute, assisted by 메이저놀이터 Kim Jong-seok. It was his second goal of the season. Yoon Min-ho, who scored eight goals last season and was the team’s main gun, scored at a crucial moment. After conceding a goal to Cho Young-wook (Gimcheon) in the 45th minute of the first half to tie the score at 1-1, it was Joo Ning-yo’s turn to shine in the 18th minute of the second half. He received a pass from Yoon Min-ho and scored the winning goal. It was the league debut goal for Juningyo, who moved to Gimpo this season. Although his speed stood out, he was unable to score a goal, so Ko’s heartbreaking goal was capped off with a mazy finish.
Gimpo’s defense didn’t falter during the loss. Gimpo, who had been struggling to find a goal scorer other than Lewis, added three valuable points with Yoon Min-ho and Jun Ning-you joining in on the scoring. The ‘resurgence’ of the strikers was as pleasing as the victory.