Under coach Seol Ki-hyeon’s weakness in defense, Gyeongnam FC is continuing a surprise scoreless streak at the beginning of the season.
Gyeongnam did not concede a single goal in the first three games of Hana One Q K League 2 2023. Throughout K-League 1 and 2, only Gyeongnam and Gimpo FC have not lost a goal. Since Gimpo took a break in the first round, Gyeongnam is the only team with no goals in 3 matches.
There isn’t much of a loss crisis per se. In the first and second rounds, Gyeongnam allowed only 3 and 2 effective shots against Bucheon FC 1995 and Jeonnam Dragons, respectively. The average number of effective shots recorded by Bucheon and Jeonnam in matches against other teams is 6 times, which is half of 5.5 times. Gimpo, who scored 4 goals with 11 shots on target in the previous game, only had 2 shots on target and no goals against Gyeongnam.
It’s an amazing improvement compared to previous seasons. Gyeongnam showed off its hot offense from 2020, when coach Seol started leading the team, but the defense was uneasy. The minimum conceded ranking was always at the bottom. It was 8th in the 2020 season and 6th in the 2021 season. Last season, he went down to ninth place while allowing 61 runs in 40 regular round games. 스마일 토토
Of course, it was difficult to dream of consecutive scoreless runs. It is the first time in the 4 years of Seol’s managerial system that he has not lost a goal in 3 games. Last year, he did not concede a single scoreless game in two consecutive games. He recorded two consecutive scoreless runs, once only in the summer of 2020 and 2021.
I was used to multi-point games that allow more than two runs rather than zero runs. Of the 107 league matches he played over the preceding three years, only 24 were clean sheets, twice as many as 48.
It is the result of consciously focusing on defense. Coach Seol endured a certain amount of defensive anxiety in order to play the ideal form of attacking soccer he dreamed of. Training also focused on offense rather than defense. However, in the end, he is making changes little by little as he fails to achieve his goal of promotion one after another due to the lack of defense.
In particular, during this winter training, which marked the 4th year, the defense was emphasized even more. At the time of the winter training media camp, he said, “Teams that produce good results are based on stabilizing the defense. This year, we must balance well and create a high-quality attack at the same time.”