K League 1 Gameweek 19

Gwangju FC 1 - 1 FT Gimcheon Sangmu FC

Gwangju Football Stadium

Match previews and recaps to help you decide which games are worth watching

Futmetrix Verdict
36
FT
Wed, Jul 22
한국어
Gwangju FC
1-1
Gimcheon Sangmu FC
⚡ Intensity 27
⚖️ Balance 47
🏆 Stakes 0
🎲 Upset 46
Basement stalemate offers no escape

Basement Stalemate Offers No Escape

Skip It Futmetrix Score: 36/100. An explosive opening seven minutes gave way to a gritty, disjointed scrap that leaves both sides heavily anchored in the K League 1 relegation mire.

A Frantic Opening Exchange

This crucial relegation battle at Gwangju Football Stadium exploded into life before the crowd had even settled into their seats. The Stakes were unmistakably high for two sides languishing at the bottom of the table, and Gwangju FC drew first blood. In the fifth minute, J. Iredale capitalized on a sharp feed from Moon Min-seo to set the tone with an early opener. However, the lead was remarkably short-lived. The Balance of the tie swung back just two minutes later when Go Jae-Hyeon finished off a move orchestrated by Jung Jae-Min for Gimcheon Sangmu FC. This rapid exchange of blows suggested a thriller, but it merely served as a false dawn for a match that quickly descended into a nervous tactical stalemate.

The VAR Heartbreak

After the chaotic start, the visitors gradually took charge. Gimcheon Sangmu FC controlled possession with 56 percent of the ball and relentlessly squeezed the hosts through set-pieces. A staggering 11 corners for the away side highlighted their territorial dominance, pushing the Intensity of their attacking phases. Gwangju, restricted to a solitary shot on target all match, had to dig deep defensively. The true pivot of the afternoon arrived in the 67th minute. Lee Sang-Heon thought he had found the decisive breakthrough for Gimcheon, turning the ball into the net to the delight of the away bench. However, VAR intervened, identifying an offside in the build-up and disallowing the strike. That narrow margin kept the hosts alive but drained the remaining attacking belief from the contest.

Stuck in the Mire

The final whistle brought no real relief to either camp. This 1-1 draw is a classic case of two struggling teams being too afraid to lose, ultimately failing to win. With Gwangju FC rooted in 12th place and Gimcheon just above them in 11th, a solitary point barely impacts their desperate points-to-safety deficit. The Upset Factor remained low, as a draw between two out-of-form sides was perhaps the most predictable outcome. Both managers will rue the missed opportunity to claim a vital six-pointer. Gwangju's defensive resilience under heavy corner pressure is a modest positive, but until they find a way to generate more than a single attacking threat per match, their survival hopes will continue to fade rapidly.

Key Questions

Who scored the goals in this match?

J. Iredale opened the scoring for Gwangju FC in the 5th minute, and Go Jae-Hyeon equalized for Gimcheon Sangmu FC in the 7th minute.

Why was the second-half goal ruled out?

Lee Sang-Heon's 67th-minute goal for Gimcheon Sangmu FC was disallowed by VAR due to an offside infringement in the build-up.

What is the Futmetrix Score?

The Futmetrix Score is our 0-100 verdict on how entertaining a match is. We look at intensity, balance, stakes, and star quality to tell you if it's worth your time.

Match Statistics

Possession
44%
56%
Gwangju FC 44%
Gimcheon Sangmu FC 56%
Shots on Target
1
2
Gwangju FC 1
Gimcheon Sangmu FC 2
Corners
1
11
Gwangju FC 1
Gimcheon Sangmu FC 11
Fouls
8
10
Gwangju FC 8
Gimcheon Sangmu FC 10
Yellow Cards
1
0
Gwangju FC 1
Gimcheon Sangmu FC 0
Red Cards
0
0
Gwangju FC 0
Gimcheon Sangmu FC 0

Match Events

5' J. Iredale (Moon Min-seo)
Go Jae-Hyeon (Jung Jae-Min) 7'
38' 🔄 E. Saitoski A. Ba Loua
HT
46' 🔄 Ahn Young-Kyu Jang Seok-Hwan
46' 🔄 Park Won-Jae Kwon Sung-Yun
Jung Jae-Min G. Lee 🔄 46'
Park Se-Jin Lee Sang-Heon 🔄 60'
T. Park Kim Yi-Seok 🔄 60'
Lee Sang-Heon 67'
69' 🔄 Ha Seung-Un Joung Ji-hun
Hong Yun-Sang Kim In-Gyun 🔄 72'
79' 🔄 Choi Kyoung-Rok Ju Se-Jong
K. Lee Lee Chan-Wook 🔄 82'
85' 🟨 Kwon Sung-Yun
FT

Player Cards

Our take on every player in this match

Gwangju FC

Goalkeepers
Kyeong-min Kim
👻 Invisible Nothing to note
Defenders
Won-jae Park
👻 Invisible Nothing to note
Teun van Grunsven
👻 Invisible Nothing to note
Yeong-kyu Ahn
👻 Invisible Nothing to note
João Pedro
👻 Invisible Nothing to note
Midfielders
Yu Je-ho
👻 Invisible Nothing to note
Emir Saitoski
👻 Invisible Nothing to note
Kyoung-Rok Choi
👻 Invisible Nothing to note
Min-seo Moon
👻 Invisible Nothing to note
Seung-un Ha
👻 Invisible Nothing to note
Forwards
John Iredale
👻 Invisible Nothing to note
BENCH
Dong-hwa Kim
👻 Invisible Nothing to note
Suk-Hwan Jang
👻 Invisible Nothing to note
Seung-kyeom Im
👻 Invisible Nothing to note
Adriel D'Avila Ba Loua
👻 Invisible Nothing to note
Sung-yun Kwon
👻 Invisible Nothing to note
Ji-hoon Jeong
👻 Invisible Nothing to note
Se-jong Ju
👻 Invisible Nothing to note
Yong-jik Ri
👻 Invisible Nothing to note
Chang-mu Shin
👻 Invisible Nothing to note

Gimcheon Sangmu FC

Goalkeepers
Jong-beom Baek
👻 Invisible Nothing to note
Defenders
Tae-hwan Kim
👻 Invisible Nothing to note
Byeon Jun-soo
👻 Invisible Nothing to note
Deok-geun Lim
👻 Invisible Nothing to note
Park Jin-Seong
👻 Invisible Nothing to note
Midfielders
Jae-hyeon Go
👻 Invisible Nothing to note
Tae-jun Park
👻 Invisible Nothing to note
Lee Kang-Hyeon
👻 Invisible Nothing to note
Yun-sang Hong
👻 Invisible Nothing to note
Forwards
Se-jin Park
👻 Invisible Nothing to note
Jeong Jae-Min
👻 Invisible Nothing to note
BENCH
Hyeon-ho Moon
👻 Invisible Nothing to note
Lee Chan-wook
👻 Invisible Nothing to note
Si-hoo Hong
👻 Invisible Nothing to note
Kim Lee-Seok
👻 Invisible Nothing to note
Chung Ma-ho
👻 Invisible Nothing to note
Jeon Byung-kwan
👻 Invisible Nothing to note
Kun-hee Lee
👻 Invisible Nothing to note
Lee Sangheon
👻 Invisible Nothing to note
In-kyun Kim
👻 Invisible Nothing to note

Head to Head

Date Home Score Away Competition Venue
03/17/2026 Gimcheon Sangmu FC 1 - 1 Gwangju FC K League 1 Gimcheon Stadium
07/22/2025 Gwangju FC 1 - 1 Gimcheon Sangmu FC K League 1 Gwangju Football Stadium
05/05/2025 Gwangju FC 1 - 0 Gimcheon Sangmu FC K League 1 Gwangju Football Stadium
03/16/2025 Gimcheon Sangmu FC 0 - 0 Gwangju FC K League 1 Gimcheon Stadium
09/28/2024 Gimcheon Sangmu FC 2 - 0 Gwangju FC K League 1 Gimcheon Stadium
06/15/2024 Gwangju FC 2 - 0 Gimcheon Sangmu FC K League 1 Gwangju Football Stadium
04/06/2024 Gimcheon Sangmu FC 2 - 1 Gwangju FC K League 1 Gimcheon Stadium
10/25/2020 Gwangju FC 0 - 1 Sangju Sangmu FC K League 1 Gwangju World Cup Stadium
09/15/2020 Gwangju FC 0 - 1 Sangju Sangmu FC K League 1 Gwangju World Cup Stadium
05/23/2020 Sangju Sangmu FC 1 - 0 Gwangju FC K League 1 Sangju Stadium
03/17/2026
K League 1 Gimcheon Stadium
07/22/2025
K League 1 Gwangju Football Stadium
05/05/2025
K League 1 Gwangju Football Stadium
03/16/2025
K League 1 Gimcheon Stadium
09/28/2024
K League 1 Gimcheon Stadium
06/15/2024
K League 1 Gwangju Football Stadium
04/06/2024
K League 1 Gimcheon Stadium
10/25/2020
K League 1 Gwangju World Cup Stadium
09/15/2020
K League 1 Gwangju World Cup Stadium
05/23/2020
K League 1 Sangju Stadium
Gwangju FC Win
Gimcheon Sangmu FC Win
Draw

League Standings

Pos Team P Pts GF GA GD Form
1 FC Seoul 19 42 34 14 +20 WFC Seoul 3 - 1 Pohang Steelers (22-07-2026)WBucheon FC 1995 1 - 3 FC Seoul (19-07-2026)DFC Seoul 0 - 0 Gangwon FC (12-07-2026)WFC Seoul 1 - 0 Incheon United (05-07-2026)WDaejeon Citizen 1 - 2 FC Seoul (16-05-2026)
2 Gangwon FC 19 32 24 12 +12 DJeju United FC 1 - 1 Gangwon FC (21-07-2026)WGangwon FC 2 - 0 Gimcheon Sangmu FC (18-07-2026)DFC Seoul 0 - 0 Gangwon FC (12-07-2026)WJeonbuk Motors 1 - 2 Gangwon FC (04-07-2026)WGangwon FC 2 - 0 Ulsan Hyundai FC (17-05-2026)
3 Jeonbuk Motors 19 30 25 16 +9 DJeonbuk Motors 0 - 0 Daejeon Citizen (21-07-2026)LIncheon United 1 - 0 Jeonbuk Motors (18-07-2026)WUlsan Hyundai FC 1 - 3 Jeonbuk Motors (11-07-2026)LJeonbuk Motors 1 - 2 Gangwon FC (04-07-2026)WJeonbuk Motors 1 - 0 Gimcheon Sangmu FC (17-05-2026)
4 Pohang Steelers 19 28 20 19 +1 LFC Seoul 3 - 1 Pohang Steelers (22-07-2026)LJeju United FC 2 - 1 Pohang Steelers (18-07-2026)WGwangju FC 0 - 3 Pohang Steelers (11-07-2026)WFC Anyang 2 - 3 Pohang Steelers (04-07-2026)LBucheon FC 1995 2 - 0 Pohang Steelers (17-05-2026)
5 Ulsan Hyundai FC 19 28 27 28 -1 LUlsan Hyundai FC 1 - 2 Incheon United (21-07-2026)DDaejeon Citizen 2 - 2 Ulsan Hyundai FC (18-07-2026)LUlsan Hyundai FC 1 - 3 Jeonbuk Motors (11-07-2026)DGwangju FC 1 - 1 Ulsan Hyundai FC (05-07-2026)LGangwon FC 2 - 0 Ulsan Hyundai FC (17-05-2026)
6 FC Anyang 19 27 26 22 +4 WBucheon FC 1995 2 - 3 FC Anyang (22-07-2026)DFC Anyang 1 - 1 Gwangju FC (19-07-2026)WIncheon United 0 - 1 FC Anyang (12-07-2026)LFC Anyang 2 - 3 Pohang Steelers (04-07-2026)WJeju United FC 1 - 2 FC Anyang (17-05-2026)
7 Incheon United 19 27 24 20 +4 WUlsan Hyundai FC 1 - 2 Incheon United (21-07-2026)WIncheon United 1 - 0 Jeonbuk Motors (18-07-2026)LIncheon United 0 - 1 FC Anyang (12-07-2026)LFC Seoul 1 - 0 Incheon United (05-07-2026)WIncheon United 4 - 0 Gwangju FC (16-05-2026)
8 Jeju United FC 19 24 17 19 -2 DJeju United FC 1 - 1 Gangwon FC (21-07-2026)WJeju United FC 2 - 1 Pohang Steelers (18-07-2026)DJeju United FC 0 - 0 Daejeon Citizen (12-07-2026)DGimcheon Sangmu FC 1 - 1 Jeju United FC (05-07-2026)LJeju United FC 1 - 2 FC Anyang (17-05-2026)
9 Daejeon Citizen 19 20 21 20 +1 DJeonbuk Motors 0 - 0 Daejeon Citizen (21-07-2026)DDaejeon Citizen 2 - 2 Ulsan Hyundai FC (18-07-2026)DJeju United FC 0 - 0 Daejeon Citizen (12-07-2026)DDaejeon Citizen 2 - 2 Bucheon FC 1995 (04-07-2026)LDaejeon Citizen 1 - 2 FC Seoul (16-05-2026)
10 Bucheon FC 1995 19 19 17 24 -7 LBucheon FC 1995 2 - 3 FC Anyang (22-07-2026)LBucheon FC 1995 1 - 3 FC Seoul (19-07-2026)DGimcheon Sangmu FC 1 - 1 Bucheon FC 1995 (11-07-2026)DDaejeon Citizen 2 - 2 Bucheon FC 1995 (04-07-2026)WBucheon FC 1995 2 - 0 Pohang Steelers (17-05-2026)
11 Gimcheon Sangmu FC 19 17 18 26 -8 DGwangju FC 1 - 1 Gimcheon Sangmu FC (22-07-2026)LGangwon FC 2 - 0 Gimcheon Sangmu FC (18-07-2026)DGimcheon Sangmu FC 1 - 1 Bucheon FC 1995 (11-07-2026)DGimcheon Sangmu FC 1 - 1 Jeju United FC (05-07-2026)LJeonbuk Motors 1 - 0 Gimcheon Sangmu FC (17-05-2026)
12 Gwangju FC 19 10 10 43 -33 DGwangju FC 1 - 1 Gimcheon Sangmu FC (22-07-2026)DFC Anyang 1 - 1 Gwangju FC (19-07-2026)LGwangju FC 0 - 3 Pohang Steelers (11-07-2026)DGwangju FC 1 - 1 Ulsan Hyundai FC (05-07-2026)LIncheon United 4 - 0 Gwangju FC (16-05-2026)