Another mixed bag for Jeju this month with some improvement in the league, two cup exits, potential scandal involvement, and some really fantastic news (more on that later).
In league play Jeju recorded a thrilling 3-2 victory over traditional K-League powerhouse Suwon, with Kwon Yong Nam snatching a 90th minute winner. In their following match, though, an away tie in the FA Cup, Chunnam Dragons scored in the 120th minute to knock Jeju out, preventing the sides settling the issue in a penalty shootout.
The trend of late winners continued away against league leaders Jeonbuk, unfortunately not in Jeju’s favour. Jeonbuk scored in the 82nd and 89th minute to overturn Jeju’s 2-1 lead and deny them what would have been a great victory.
Jeju then won 2-1 at home to Gwangju with — and this is getting ridiculous now — not one, but two goals in added time. Gwangju equalized in the 90th minute only for Bae Ki Jong to grab a 92nd minute winner. Jeju were eliminated from their second cup competition in two weeks as Suwon got revenge for the earlier league defeat winning a K-League Cup tie 4-2 on penalties.
Jeju’s most recent game was a fine 4-2 away victory in Gangwon with Santos Junior and Kim Eun Jin both scoring in the last 10 minutes.
So Jeju are out of all cup competitions and can now put forth all their concentration on the league where they currently sit in third place, six points behind league leaders Jeonbuk.
In scandal news, it appears that things are much worse than anyone had thought. Already 10 players, eight from Daejeon Citizen, have been identified as having received money from gambling brokers to fix games, but according to USA Today, Choi Sung Kuk of the Suwon Samsung Bluewings who has represented Korea on the international stage, is now caught up in it as well.
Choi came forward on June 29 stating that he attended a meeting with brokers and players and was offered money to fix games. He said to have declined the offer. This is the first incident of a first-tier player, who has donned red for his country, being caught up in this mess, which raises some questions: how deep does this scandal run, and if the K-League isn’t cleaned up soon, how much longer will fans stick around?
Well, on July 6 it was revealed that Jeju United’s Hong Jeong Ho is being questioned for potential involvement in match fixing, specifically in the 5-1 loss against Seoul on June 10. Hong has denied the allegations.
Now for the really good news; Shin Young Rok has come out of his coma after 50 days! Shin woke up on June 24 after collapsing on May 8 at the end of a home game against Daegu.
The coma was caused by a heart attack, and Shin suffered multiple organ failure. Doctors said that he can talk normally and that they hope he will be able to lead a normal life again after lengthy therapy.
Best news we’ve had all season. Good luck with your recovery Shin. <Jeju Weekly>
<Matt Harris contributor@jejuweekly.com ⓒ Jeju Weekly All rights reserved>
