Kim Cheon-sang desperately needed a victory.
Gimcheon had one draw and three losses in four games since its away win over the Pohang Steelers on July 28. Coach Chung Jung-yong of Gimcheon tried to rebound through "mini off-season training" during the A-match break in September. Kim was sweating profusely for five days and four nights in Miryang, South Gyeongsang Province, from Sept. 8 to Sept. 12. Coach Chung Jung-yong met with reporters ahead of the match against Incheon on the 15th and said, "It was a pre-prepared training," adding, "I've been thinking about why my performance has been poor since July, and I've tried to make up for the problem." "Many lost points due to mistakes. I tried to improve the completeness, teamwork and concentration of my tactics. I also focused on enhancing the physical stamina and adaptability of players who had not played much time," he said. Gimcheon played practice matches against Busan Transportation Corporation, Changwon FC, and the Korean U-19 national team in Miryang training. Coach Chung wanted to play a practice game without a substitute. Coach Chung said, "In the practice game, we let the starters play all the way," adding, "There was no replacement unless there were injuries." "First of all, I wanted to check the physical strength of players who had few chances to play. I wanted to elevate them at the same time. I made some changes and checked the speed at which they adapt to the changes. It was not perfect. I saw their physical strength decline toward the end of the second half. In official matches, when they lost concentration, they lost a lot of points. I tried to fix the couple as much as possible," coach Chung explained. Coach Chung made a big change in the match against Incheon on the 15th. As many as eight starting players have changed compared to the away game of Jeju United, which was held just before the A-match break in September. Only Seo Min-woo, Kim Bong-soo and Kim Dong-heon were listed on the starting list. There was something different here, too. Unlike the match against Jeju, where "multi-player" Kim Bong-soo played as a central defender, he started as a central midfielder. Coach Chung came out by completely changing the front three-top and four-back defense lines. Director Chung's numbers hit the mark. Gimcheon defeated Incheon, which had been struggling to escape from the lowest rank, 2-0. It was its first win in five matches. What was more meaningful to Gimcheon was the scoreless game. The last time Gimcheon scored a scoreless game was against Jeonbuk Hyundai on July 14. It was in seven games. One more thing. Gimcheon confirmed Final A with this victory. It is Gimcheon's first advance to Final A since its foundation in 2021. Including the days of Sangju Sangmu of the Armed Forces, it will be the first advance to Final A after the 2020 season. Coach Chung said, "It was a game ahead of Chuseok," adding, "I'm glad I felt like I gave a holiday gift to my fans." "We did not have good performance. However, we had to overcome just one crisis. During the break period, we produced results with players who sweated a lot. We will make a more advanced team than we have now. We want to improve our tactics to show better performance. When we need results, we will do our best to secure three points. We will definitely motivate our players to help them continue to grow," Chung said. Gimcheon has recorded 14 wins, eight draws and eight losses (50 points) in 30 K-League matches this season. It ranks third among 12 K-League teams. Gimcheon is chasing Ulsan HD, the lone lead, by four points. There are eight more games to play this season, including the final round. Gimcheon is still a strong candidate for the K League 1 title in the 2024 season. "We were the first team to be demoted before the opening of the season. We came all the way here thinking about how to overcome it. As long as we've come this far, it's important that we advance as much as we can," coach Chung said. Gimcheon will try to win back-to-back games against Suwon FC on Sept. 21 at Suwon Stadium.