▲ The spoils were shared between Jeju and Daegu in a tightly fought match. Photo courtesy Jeju United Football Club

With only four games remaining in the K-League Classic regular season, and Jeju United teetering between relegation and championship playoffs, every game is a must-win, yet Jeju could only manage a point against Daegu in Seogwipo on Sunday, August 18.

Standing only one point ahead of Busan I’Park for the seventh and final qualifying position, Jeju desperately needed to put more space between them as they squared off with Daegu FC Sunday night in Seogwipo.

With Jeju taking on the K-League’s 12th place team, and Busan matching up with second place Ulsan, Jeju definitely should have walked out of World Cup Stadium with the breathing room they sought – on paper.

However, things turned out quite the opposite of ideal. Jeju United could only muster a single point after a 1-1 draw, while Busan upset the number two team, gained three points, and leapfrogged Jeju in the standings. United were left dwelling in relegation-round territory.

Despite end-to-end action throughout the first half, neither Jeju nor Daegu were able to draw first blood and open the scoring. The second half opened noticeably in Jeju’s favor, as The Orange controlled the action and kept the ball in Daegu's half for long periods. Hong Jeong-Ho and Kang Soo-Il generated a number of quality chances within the half’s first five minutes that narrowly missed the net.

In a curious move for such a crucial game, Jeju United subbed off Pedro Junior, their team and the league’s leading scorer, for Maranhão on 59 minutes. It proved to be a fruitful substitution though as ten minutes later Maranhão setup Kang Soo-Il inside the box with a short pass to the right of the goal that Kang pu past Daegu’s keeper to give Jeju a 1-0 lead. Kang’s goal was his first of the year, and lifted a monkey off of his back that had caused him some very noticeable frustration up until that point.

The visitors showed no sign of surrender, however and would equalize on 79 minutes. Midfielder Hwang Soon-Min snuck into Jeju’s box to receive a cross pass that he buried in Jeju’s net to deadlock the match.

Needing the win, Jeju attacked hard for the remaining minutes, hemming Daegu into their half for long periods. Ahn Jong-Hoon narrowly missed a heading opportunity on 86 minutes, and The Orange threw a flurry of additional attempts on goal that they were unable to convert as regulation time ticked down. Three minutes of injury time solved nothing, and the match ended knotted at one apiece. It was the second time this season Jeju and Daegu had drawn 1-1 with the same result in Daegu on April 27.

After four draws and two losses at home in the last six league games, Coach Park Kyung Hoon wants more from his star players. He said after the game:

“Because we haven’t taken our chances at home, we haven’t been able to get the victories. Pedro, Maranhao, Seo Dong-hyeon, Yun Bit-garam all need to give more,” he said. “We need to win all of our remaining games,” he added.

Jeju’s remaining three matches of the K-League Classic regular season are against Jeonbuk Motors at home on August 24, Busan I’Park on August 28 in Busan, and Daejeon Citizen at home on September 1. Third place Jeonbuk downed Jeju 2-1 in previous meeting in April, Jeju defeated seventh place Busan 1-0 in their last match back in March, and drew 1-1 with last place Daejeon, also in March.

Dave Cunning is a freelance writer from Kelowna, BC, Canada. Read his blog http://davecunning.wordpress.com and follow him on Twitter: @davecunning