▲ Maranhao scores the equalizing header on a disappointing day for United. Photo courtesy Jeju United

With no chance of being relegated to the K-League Challenge while playing through the K-League Classic relegation round, it must be, understandably, difficult for Jeju United to conjure up the motivation to play out the round’s remaining games at full bore. But if they can’t find some inspiration, they may find themselves receiving losses from teams that have no business beating them.

Drawing only 2,870 spectators on Wednesday afternoon – 0.08% of the Seogwipo’s World Cup Stadium capacity – Jeju United barely escaped with a draw against the K-League Classic’s second-worst team. Had it not been for some last-minute heroics, the Orange very well could have fallen in defeat to a team they lead by 28 points. If nothing else, pride – Jeju Pride – might be their last remaining motivator.

Both clubs appeared evenly matched as the game got underway, but as the game wore on to the 20^th minute, Gangwon FC generated four strong chances, missing the net by mere inches on each occasion – one of which got past Jeju’s keeper but was miraculously retrieved off the goal line by defender Heo Jae-Won before it could trickle in. Offensively outplayed by a team that has scored 21 less goals than them this season, United retreated to the locker room to regroup at halftime.

Jeju’s play improved in the second half. On 52 minutes, United attacker Seo Dong-Hyeon made a stupendous play to get in front of a clearing attempt by Gangwon’s goalkeeper. Maranhão reacted quickly to the turnover, retrieving the deflected kick, drawing the keeper to the goal’s right side, then slipping it back across to a wide open Seo, who somehow, inexplicably, rolled it wide left of the yawning, gaping, unattended cage.

The blunder would prove costly. Gangwon regained control of play and brought it back down to Jeju’s goal on 69 minutes, where Lee Yong embarrassingly knocked the ball into his own net on a seemingly harmless play to put the visitors up 1-0.

In an ongoing theme of the match, Gangwon had an unbelievable number of players fall to the turf in apparent life-threatening agony only to miraculously return to action in peak physical form moments after a call was made, or when they reached the sidelines after being carried off by their team’s medical staff.

On one play in particular, Gangwon was actually able to goad the game’s referee into yellow carding Jeju’s Maranhão on 74 minutes, arguing the playmaker had taken down their teammate who lay writhing in “pain” on the grass. In reality, three Gangwon players had attempted to take down one Jeju player after an offensive drive and failed. Of course, the "injured" player immediately returned to action after the call was made.

As frustrating as it was to watch, the clearly strategic stoppages in play by the visitors caused major interruptions in Jeju’s offensive zone attempts, and quelled whatever momentum they had been able to put together. Jeju came no closer to scoring in regulation than Pedro hitting the crossbar on 90 minutes, as the game transitioned into four minutes of injury time.

It was in those extra minutes that Jeju would finally find the equalizer. A flurry in front of Gangwon’s keeper drew the ball right of the goal, where Bae Ki-Jong was able to volley it back to the middle for Maranhão to head in the even-up goal. It was his seventh marker of the season.

The final seconds of the match ticked away, and the score was finalized at 1-1.

Jeju United’s next match is at home against Daejeon Citizen on Sunday, Oct. 20. Jeju is 2-0-1 against Daejeon this season. They then hit the road to face Gyeongnam on Oct. 27 and Chunnam on Nov. 2, before returning home to Seogwipo on Nov. 10 to face Seongnam.

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