The painful nickname you wish you could erase from your memory is back. Incheon United, the ‘King of Staying Up,’ has slipped to the bottom of the K League 1 and is in a survival battle. The club needs to pull off a dramatic late-season rebound to avoid a first-ever relegation to the second division (K League 2).
Incheon hasn’t left the K League 1 since 2013, when the promotion system was introduced. Not every season has been great, but the club has miraculously managed to stay in the league in times of crisis. Since 2014, they have finished 10th, 8th, 10th, 9th, 9th, and 10th, narrowly avoiding relegation. In 2020, after finishing 11th, they dramatically stayed up thanks to an automatic relegation due to Sangju’s move to Gimcheon, 파워볼사이트 and the following year they finished 8th to stay in the top flight.
In 2022 and last year, they rebounded to finish fourth and fifth, but this season has been a dismal one. Incheon is currently in 12th place with 32 points (W7 D11 L16) with four games remaining. They will be automatically relegated if they continue to lose.
The problem is their recent form. Incheon lost their first match of the Final B (7th-12th place) on Nov. 19, 1-2 to Jeju United, their third straight defeat. The gap between them and 11th-place Jeonbuk Hyundai (37 points) has also widened. Incheon has scored a league-low 33 goals this season. Foreign striker Mugosa, who is tied with Ilyuchenko (FC Seoul) with 14 goals, has been the lone scorer. He’s responsible for over 40% of the team’s goals.
Incheon needs to move up at least one spot in the standings in their remaining matches to have a chance of staying up via the promotion PO. Incheon will face seventh-ranked Gwangju FC at home on Nov. 27 before traveling to Jeonbuk, Daejeon Hana Citizen, and Daegu FC. The team’s head-to-head record this season is favorable against Gwangju (2 wins, 1 draw), Jeonbuk (1 win, 1 draw, 1 loss), Daejeon (2 wins, 1 loss), and Daegu (1 win, 2 draws), giving them hope.
Incheon said: “After one loss in the final five matches of the 2018 season, we have won four consecutive matches to stay in the top flight. In the eight years since the 2014 season, we have been in the lower division, our Final B record is 15 wins, 16 draws, and 9 losses in 40 games.” ‘We will show our survival instinct and write the story of our stay,’ the club said.
In Final A (1st-6th), the battle for the title has intensified. Second-place Gangwon FC (58 points) will meet third-place Gimcheon (57 points) on Saturday. Gangwon defeated Seoul 1-0 in the first match of Final A to swap places with Gimcheon. The race for the top spot could come to a head a day later, depending on the outcome of the “East Coast Derby” between No. 1 Ulsan HD (62 points) and No. 4 Pohang Steelers (52 points).