Incheon United Relegated to K League 2 for 1st Time

SEOUL, Nov. 11 (Korea Bizwire) – Incheon United have been relegated to the second division in South Korean football for the first time in club history, after narrowly avoiding the fate in recent years.

Incheon lost to Daejeon Hana Citizen FC 2-1 in their penultimate match of the K League 1 season on Sunday, which ensured Incheon will finish in last place and face direct relegation to the K League 2 regardless of their result in the season finale on Nov. 24 against Daegu FC.

Incheon remained stuck at 36 points and Daegu, despite losing to Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 3-1 on Sunday, are at 40 points.

Under the current promotion-relegation system, the last-place team in the 12-club K League 1 each season will be directly relegated to the second division for the following year. The 11th-place team must beat the runner-up from the K League 2 in a promotion-relegation playoff. The other playoff will pit the 10th-ranked team from the K League 1 against the winner of a K League 2 playoff involving teams ranked third, fourth and fifth there.

The K League implemented the promotion-relegation system in 2013 and Incheon have never previously been relegated.

They dodged that bullet a few times in the past, though. In 2019, Incheon, then coached by cancer-stricken Yoo Sang-chul, were clinging to 10th place with two matches remaining, only three points ahead of last-place Jeju United. Back then, teams only had to finish in 10th place to avoid any playoff. Incheon had a win and a draw in those two remaining games to end the season in 10th.

In 2020, under new head coach Cho Sung-hwan, Incheon won their final two matches to barely avoid relegation once again.

They spent the next two campaigns in the upper echelon of the K League 1, and even qualified for the Asian Football Confederation Champions League, the top club competition in Asia, for the first time in club history in 2023.

This season, however, Incheon failed to replicate their magic. Cho resigned in July with the club sitting in ninth place with 20 points from four wins, eight draws and eight losses. His top assistant, Byun Jae-sub, served as caretaker coach for nearly a month before Choe Yeong-keun took over as the full-time replacement.

Under Choe, Incheon only recorded three wins, two draws and seven losses.

On Sunday, Incheon’s fate appeared sealed before the match was barely 15 minutes old, with Daejeon jumping out to a 2-0 lead on goals by Masatoshi Ishida and Anton Krivotsyuk.

Incheon cut the deficit in half late in the first half with Gerso Fernandes converting a cross from Lee Myung-joo. But they couldn’t get any closer the rest of the match, with Fernandes’ would-be equalizer disallowed in the 71st minute when it was ruled that the ball had gone over the endline before it was passed to the forward.

With this win, Daejeon improved to 45 points for ninth place and avoided falling into a promotion-relegation playoff.

Jeonbuk, nine-time K League champions who have battled to stay out of the cellar all season, climbed to 10th place with their win over Daegu.

Lee Seung-woo had a goal and an assist in the win, but Jeonbuk will still end up in one of the two promotion-relegation playoffs, either as the 10th or 11th seed.

Following an international break, Jeonbuk will finish their season against Gwangju FC on Nov. 24.

(Yonhap)