Football in East Asia is moving forward.
Another great and entertaining weekend saw football action in the South Korean K League, Taiwanese TFPL and the Vietnamese Cup.
There were quite a few upsets and unexpected results that are worth pointing out.
K League
Matchday four of K League started on Friday with a clash between Daegu FC and Sangju Sangmu. Daegu's starlet, Cesinha, scored his first goal of the season with a cheeky back heel in the 50th minute in what was the highlight of the game, but they failed to keep the lead as Song Seung-min equalized after 11 minutes. 1-1 in full time, as Daegu is still yet to win a game.
What really grabbed fans' attention were two unbelievable results on Saturday.
First, it was Gangwon FC, who hosted reigning league champions and unbeaten Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors at Gangneung Stadium. It was Gangwon' second Gangneung game in three years. The club has played in Pyeongchang and Chuncheon during the last three seasons as the use in Gangneung Stadium was restricted due to 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. Their return to their old ground was well congratulated, with an unbelievable victory. Ko Moo-yeol, who moved to Gangwon from Jeonbuk earlier this year, was the only scorer of the game. It is the first time that Gangwon beat Jeonbuk at their home stadium. Jeonbuk will miss Hong Jeong-ho and their gaffer, Jose Morais, in next match since both were sent off during the game.
The second upset took place at Gwangju, as Ulsan Hyundai only managed to share a point with Gwangju FC. Eom Won-sang's solo-effort goal in the 11th minute gave Gwangju the lead, but Ulsan were relieved after 10 minutes as Gwangju defender Lee Han-do accidentally put the ball into his own net. Ulsan remained undefeated, but it was a disappointing outcome for them considering Gwangju have lost all three games this season.
The last upset to point out was on Sunday, at Seoul World Cup Stadium. Seongnam FC grabbed a narrow 1-0 victory over FC Seoul with the strike from Tomislav Kis at the very last minute. It was his first goal in K League. With this victory, the Magpies remain one of the only two teams who haven't lost a game in the league alongside with Ulsan.
K League 2
The race for K League 2's top scorer is becoming more and more intense as the season progress. There are two players on the top of the competition' scoresheet - An Byong-jun and Andre Luis. Both players have scored six goals in five matches, including a goal they added in the recent games. The Brazilian Andre has netted the late penalty and helped his team, Daejeon Hana Citizen, get a late draw in Gyeongnam away. North Korean sensation, An Byong-jun, scored Suwon FC's equaliser against Bucheon FC but couldn't prevent his team's 1-2 defeat.
Taiwan
Taiwan Football Premier League completed its first round on May 31. Taiwan Steel, who were rated as favourites among the league's experts, are surprisingly only on the fifth place. Japanese-owned Taichung FUTURO is on the top of the league while all-Taiwanese Taipower, follow them from behind.
Vietnam
Vietnamese Cup is on its usual business. Round 2's matchups were kicked-off as scheduled, and did not produce significant upsets. Powerhouse Binh Duong, Ha Noi, and TP Ho Chi Minh all have advanced to the next round. Ba Ria Vung Tau and Can Tho are the only remaining two second-tier teams in the tournament.
Jinseong Kim is an East Asian football expert. He spreads the value of minnow's football through Wall Football page.
