Underdogs lose fight in rain-battered Korea Cup quarterfinals

K League 1 clubs Ulsan HD, Gwangju FC, Jeju United and defending Korea Cup champions Pohang Steelers are through to this year's top four.

Jeong Jae-hee, center, celebrates after scoring a double for the Pohang Steelers at Pohang Steelyard in Pohang, North Gyeongsang on Wednesday as they defeated FC Seoul 5-1 to reach the semifinals of the Korea Cup. [YONHAP]

Top-tier clubs on Wednesday snatched up all four semifinal spots in the 2024 Korea Cup as Gimpo FC and Seongnam FC, the only remaining K League 2 sides, were narrowly edged out after clinging on to the very end.

Jeju United beat Gimpo 1-0 and Gwangju FC beat Seongnam 3-2, with the K League 1 clubs scoring their winners in the final minutes of stoppage time, Jeju’s in the 90+1 minute and Gwangju’s in the 120+1 to escape a penalty shootout.

It’ll be another year of wait in Korean football before its second-division underdogs have a shot at recreating the Jeonnam Dragons’ feat in 2021 — when the southern side became the first K League 2 club to win the domestic competition.

The Korea Cup, formerly called the Korean FA Cup, is a contest among clubs at all levels of the K League and the winner earns a ticket to the 2024-25 Asia Champions League Elite.

Teams played all four quarterfinal matches Wednesday even as postponements have become a regular fixture on each club’s schedule with heavy rain across Korea making interruptions commonplace.

It was a night drama but also expected wins, the more powerful clubs knocking out their opponents with varying degrees of ease.

Defending Korea Cup champions the Pohang Steelers trounced FC Seoul 5-1 at home at Pohang Steelyard in Pohang, North Gyeongsang while Ulsan HD beat Incheon United 1-0 at Munsu Football Stadium in Ulsan, their first Cup fixture under a caretaker manager.

But more exciting, perhaps, were the two fixtures with the two K League 2 teams.

Seongnam, who were relegated to the second division in 2022 and sit in 12th place on the 13-team K League 2 table as of press time, were fighting to return to the Cup semifinals for the first time since 2020.

Seongnam, visitors in Gwangju, were playing nearly the entire match down — the home side entering the second half with a comfortable 2-0 lead thanks to a brace by Shin Sang-moo.

Gwangju’s Jasir Asani — previously sidelined for apparent slacking — was back in the starting XI after returning from a bit of viral fame while representing Albania at the Euros. And yes, he has been wearing his "Super Mario" boots.

And it seemed a nearly done deal until the last minute, Seongnam’s Lee Jung-min scoring a goal to make it 2-1. That goal gave the K League 2 club immediate fight, with Leonardo Acevedo equalizing to force 30 minutes of added extra time.

But Gwangju’s Joao Magno denied Seongnam a spot in the semifinals in the 120+1 minute — his first goal for the club.

It was Gimpo’s first time playing in the Korea Cup quarterfinals, about a decade after becoming a club.

They held Jeju to a goalless draw at Gimpo Solteo Football Field in Gimpo until the dwindling minutes, playing through the rain that swept northern regions Wednesday and on a puddle-ridden pitch.

The match seemed headed toward added extra time with neither side able to break through until Jeju’s Yuri Jonathan scored a header in the 90+3 minute, the K League 1 side capitalizing off a throw-in close to the net.

“Today’s weather forced the fans to suffer. I want to thank the fans for supporting us until the very end,” Jeju manager Kim Hak-bum said in a statement posted to the club’s Instagram following their win over Gimpo.

“We've advanced to the semifinals for a second consecutive year. I take this just as seriously as the league. We approach every game as seriously as if it were our last.

"This was a physically grueling match in dangerously wet conditions. Everybody put in so much effort. Recovering ahead of the away game at Gangwon this weekend is now our top priority."

This year’s semifinal round is nearly identical to the one in last year’s competition, with three of last year’s top four returning for another shot at the final.

The Steelers, Ulsan and Jeju all made it to the semifinals of the 2023 Korean FA Cup.

The only club missing is Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, the K League’s most trophied club and 2023 Cup runners-up, who were knocked out by Gimpo in this year’s round of 16 and are in rare danger of relegation from the K League 1.

The draw for this year’s two-leg semifinal round has yet to take place.

BY MARY YANG [mary.yang@joongang.co.kr]