Incheon blast past Suwon in fiery derby | OneFootball

Incheon United motored past Suwon Bluewings in a bad-tempered game at Sungui Arena on Saturday afternoon. The three first half red cards will be the talking point but Stefan Mugosa's outstanding contribution shifted the balance of the game and Incheon ran out easy winners.

Incheon United 2 (Stefan Mugosa 50', Kim Seong-min 67')

Suwon Samsung 0

As auditions go for K League 2 championship contenders, there was only one winner on a wild afternoon in Sungui Arena. Even before a flurry of red cards turned the first half from a game of football into a battle, Suwon were extremely poor yet again. With the resources available to manager Byun Seong-hwan, it isn't unreasonable to suggest the team should be performing to a far higher standard.

Byun and his staff weren't helped by a bizarre spell after Moon Ji-hwan was handed a straight red card following a VAR review for a tackle on Kim Ji-hyeon. Oddly, it was Suwon who lost their heads when gifted a winning lottery ticket. Firstly, Lee Ki-jae followed Moon for an early bath after his poorly executed tackle on the left touchline.

That red card spurred Incheon into action and for the first time in the game, they attacked freely and with purpose. The Bluewings were already finding the contest difficult when it was 10-on-10, partly because of Gerso Fernandez' pace down the now vacant left side of Suwon's defense. But the home team could hardly believe their luck when Kwon Wan-kyu was shown a second yellow card for a ridiculous handball.

Sensing an opportunity to make the extra man count, Incheon tore into Suwon at the start of the second half and were rewarded for their adventurous play with an early goal from the influential Stefan Mugosa. From that point, it was damage limitation for the visitors and while they did fashion a couple of close chances, they were second best for the majority of the game and Incheon deservedly doubled their lead with 20 minutes to play.

Incheon go top of K League 2 following this win and will look to maintain their perfect start when they visit Seongnam next Sunday. Based on this form, it is going to be very difficult for any team to beat Incheon this season and certainly to do so, it would help not to have multiple players red carded.

Following their 2-0 victory over Gyeongnam last week, new manager Yoon Jeong-hwan made just one alteration to his starting XI. Experienced midfielder Moon Ji-hwan came into the team having been on the bench last week. Kim Do-hyeok dropped to the bench.

Suwon manager Byun Seung-hwan made three changes from the side that narrowly beat Ansan Greeners in Wa~ Stadium last Saturday. Goalkeeper and captain Yang Hyeong-mo missed out through injury so in stepped Kim Min-jun. New signing from FC Seoul, Kwon Wan-gyu, earned his first start alongside Léo Andrade in the heart of the defense. Han Ho-gang dropped down to the bench. And, finally, Kim Ju-chan started up top before he moves to Gimcheon Sangmu next month. Bruno Silva joined Stanislav Iljutcenko on the bench.

Five minutes after the start, the big screen announced a sellout crowd at Incheon Football Stadium. If the 19,000 in attendance were expecting a gentlemanly contest on a mild Saturday afternoon between near neighbors, they would be greatly disappointed. The first-half was a war zone. Suwon picked up two early yellow cards; one of which, for Choi Young-jun, was rash.

Then, on 25 minutes, the fuse was ignited inside Sungui. Incheon midfielder Moon Ji-hwan, making his first start of the year, was shown a yellow carded for a foul on Suwon forward Kim Ji-Hyeon. It was a poorly timed tackle and completely unnecessary. The foul took place inside Suwon's half and Kim was running away from goal. The forward immediately ran to the bench to indicate the severity of the challenge.

VAR agreed and after reviewing footage for a minute, referee Park Jong-myeong upgraded the yellow to a red. This decision sparked two instantaneous substitutions. Suwon removed Kim Ju-chan for Bruno Silva and Incheon sacrificed Park Seung-ho for Harrison Delbridge. Two minutes later, Suwon were down to ten men. Experienced left back Lee Ki-jae's lunge on the left touchline was met with the correct punishment.

With more space on the pitch, Incheon looked the more dangerous side. Gerso Fernandes skint his man down the right but his cut back was intercepted before Stefan Mugosa could land a blow. From the breakout, Incheon left back Lee Ju-yong was the latest player to pick up a card after losing the battle of pace with Serafim.

The stupidest red card of the half came with 50 seconds to go. 'Enjoying' his first start in white, former Seoul defender Kwon was sent off for blocking a throw in with his hands. He was lucky to survive a second yellow ten minutes before, but this will likely go down as the season's most idiotic dismissal. Kwon's early shower brought an end to a first half low on quality but absolutely sky high for drama.

Following three red cards, the second half began with 19 players. Both clubs made changes but the pattern of the previous 15 minutes remained the same. Incheon were enjoying the greater freedom on the pitch and with Suwon an extra man down, it felt like only a matter of time before they would open the scoring.

And, as expected, it was Stefan Mugosa who obliged. After winning the ball back on the left wing, Kim Bo-seob's cross was superbly headed home by Mugosa, off the post. The goal was fully deserved and from that moment, it was purely damage limitation for the Bluewings. Mugosa fired a header just wide as the hosts looked to carve open the Suwon carcass further. The forward turned to the home fans to shout later and they followed their hero. The traffic was now flowing in one direction.

Suwon's best chance of the game fell to Serafim and Bruno Silva on 66 minutes. Both players had a stab at drawing Suwon level from close range but epic scramble defense saw Incheon survive. If Suwon thought this was their way back into the contest, they were mistaken.

Replacement forward Kim Seong-min, who grabbed a goal last weekend against Gyeongnam, scored with 20 minutes to go to end the match Stefan Mugosa provided a gorgeous assist allowing Kim plenty of time to turn onto his left foot and slide the ball past Kim Min-jun in goal. Game over.

The home had further opportunities to extend their lead but in the end, they were forced to settle for two. This was a statement win by the relegated team against the side many - myself included - saw as their only likely challengers this year. Even with the caveat of two red cards brought into consideration, based on this 90 minutes, Incheon are comfortably a level above Suwon and derailing their playoff drive will be very difficult.

For Suwon, back to the drawing board. They won't fancy the trip to Mokdong next weekend but departing with three points is absolutely imperative now. They were poor when the sides were playing 11-v-11 but once his side lost their heads, Byun Seung-hwan could only watch on in horror as his men faded spectacularly.

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Up next

After starting life in K League 2 with successive home games, Incheon United make one of several short trips this year due to the number of teams in the Gyeonggi-do area. Their opponents will be Seongnam FC, a familiar fixture to many long-term K League 1 viewers. Seongnam's sad decline has seen the Magpies struggle to even remain competitive in the second division. The match kicks off at 16:30 on Sunday.

To avoid the prospect of more games at Yongin Mireu, Suwon will open their account with three straight away games. But thanks to the geographical make up of the league, the combined distance is probably no more than 100 kms. Ansan last week, Incheon today, Seoul E-Land in Mokdong at 14:00 next Sunday. The match sees Bruno Silva return to the club he helped beat the Bluewings three times last season.

Best player: Stefan MugosaAttendance: 18,173