With great sadness, we headed to World Cup Stadium last Sunday. No, we weren't sad because we expected Daejeon Citizen to lose, though that was a distinct possibility. Rather, with the playoffs out of reach, we knew we were heading to the last DCFC game of the season, and in the case of me, Lon, and Lisa, possibly our last ever DCFC game. As A.J. and Laura bought their tickets, I made friends with yet another giant Korean anthropomorphic animal character. I don't know what they sell, but I shall miss them.
The game was again Gwangju, the army team. There was a full-circle feeling to the game, as my first-ever DCFC game was against the same team, and I hoped we'd fare better this time. I was immediately disappointed, as with little riding on this game, the coach chose to play the backup keeper instead of the legendary Choi Eun-Sung. The decision hardly paid off, as on 5 minutes a deep Gwangju free kick missed everybody, including the keeper, and went in.
Shortly before half-time, Brazilian Alle, who always looks lively without doing anything, was hauled down by the keeper. Our hero Ko Chang-Hyun equalized with what has to be said was a pretty crappy penalty:
After that it was all Daejeon. Just after the re-start Ko scored another goal with a thumping left-footed half-volley. Striker Park Sung-Ho then repaid Liam's infinite faith in him with his own excellent half-volley to seal the win.
Afterwards, there were not a great deal of festivities. They showed a video with a Choi interview and a few comments from Park Sung-Ho. Sadly, we could understand neither. Two fans/dumbasses rushed the field to claim the keeper's jersey, and the keeper obliged. Lon was incensed; he's been dying to get Choi's jersey for months. "All I had to do was jump on the field?" he said. "They didn't even get arrested!"
We finished the season 9th out of 15. Neither near the top, nor desperately close to the bottom, and above our hated rivals. Not that different from the 08-09 Bolton season you'd have to say.
Highlights:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIvLsw34qiw
Pictures.
1 comment:
Thanks for the great photos. I especially like the one with you and the "giant anthropomorphic animal character." Is there one of you and Mr. Sparkle floating around out there somewhere? I'm glad Daejeon did well, and look forward to seeing a Sounders game with you soon.
Post a Comment