▲ A chance goes begging as Jeju United draw against Gyeongnam. An earlier loss against Seoul United means it has been a frustrating week for Park Kyung Hoon's men. Photo courtesy Jeju United Football Club.

After a 2-0 road loss to Seoul FC on March 26, and a 1-1 draw at home with Gyeongnam FC on March 30, Jeju United finds themselves with a 2-2-1 record, and a seventh-place seeding in the K-League Classic table.

Seoul FC 2 – 0 Jeju United (March 26)

Two second half Seoul goals were enough to separate the sides as Jeju first took on Seoul. A 68th-minute Ko Yo-Han header and a classy Yun Il-Lok strike in the 73rd minute gave Seoul the three points.

Both teams appeared even through the first half. Chances at both ends of the pitch were upended before they could threaten the goal. After a Seoul throw-in was intercepted by Jeju on 12 minutes, Song Jin-Hyung received a pass and cut to the center of the box where he put a strong shot on goal, but his shot was just a shade too high.

Later in the half, after some nifty passing in front of Jeju’s goal, Seoul moved the ball to Ko Yo-Han at the top of the box, who teed up a shot to the right of the goal that Jeju keeper Kim Ho-Jun was forced to dive at to brush with his fingertips before it ricocheted off the post.

The matched looked to draw its first goal on 48 minutes, when Seoul defender Osmar booted the ball in from the goal line after another sprawling save from Kim Ho-Jun, but upon review Osmar was well offside.

As the match spilled into the second half, Jeju’s defense learned they could only keep the ball out of their own net for so long. On 68 minutes, Seoul advanced the ball towards Jeju’s goal, where they got a shot off from left of the goal which deflected off of a Jeju defender. The problem was, the ball deflected up and over to Ko Yo-Han, who leapt into the air and headed it into Jeju’s net to give his club a 1-0 lead.

Not long after, Seoul again pressed into Jeju’s half, and worked the ball over to Yun Il-Lok, who moved it along the penalty box perimeter to the right, where he bombed a curling shot into the left side of Jeju’s goal to put the home team up by two.

Visiting Jeju United had no answer to either of Seoul’s goals, and the match ended in at 2-0 -- Jeju’s second loss of 2014.

Jeju United 1 – 1 Gyeongnam FC (March 30)

Back in Seogwipo, Jeju United looked to redeem themselves on their home turf against visiting Gyeongnam FC. Song Jin-Hyung's 24th-minute strike for United was cancelled out by Miloš Stojanović in the 63rd minute, sharing the spoils.

After some noticeably physical and back and forth play through the game’s opening frame, it was Jeju who would draw first blood. On 24 minutes, Song received a textbook pass in the center of the box, where he calmly deposited the ball into Gyeongnam’s net. Song’s second goal of the year put him one goal ahead of Hugo Droguett and Jeong Da-Hooeon for the team lead in goals.

Heavy paced action continued through the remainder, as Gyeongnam looked to even the score. Jeju managed to keep their advances at bay, and carry their lead into halftime.

Gyeongnam would not be denied in the second half, however. On 63 minutes, a Gyeongnam rush led to Stojanović being left alone with the ball just shy of Jeju’s goalkeeper, Kim Ho-Jun. After a quick shimmy to the right of the goal, the Serbian attacker evened the score at one with his second of the year, and placed himself atop his team in goals scored in 2014.

Jeju applied furious pressure after dropping their lead, volleying strong shots at the Gyeongnam goal on 67, 68, and 71 minutes, but keeper Kim Young-Kwang denied every advance. Gyeongnam appeared to take the lead shortly after in the 76th minute, but it was ruled offside.

Jeju’s attempts at reclaiming the lead continued right through the remainder of the second half, as more shots were fired in the 81st and 89th minute, but thanks to strong goalkeeping and Gyeongnam players putting their bodies in the line of fire, the ball stayed out of the visitor’s goal straight through the two minutes of injury time.

As the final whistle blew, the match ended in a draw, with both teams sharing the spoils. Both squads now total seven points in the league table, also entangled with Busan and Suwon.

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Jeju’s next game is on the road, as they travel to the mainland on April 5 to face 11th-place Sangju Sangmu, who have yet to win a match this season. United returns to Seogwipo World Cup Stadium on April 9 to square off with third place Jeonbuk Motors.

Dave Cunning is a freelance writer from Kelowna, BC, Canada. Read his blog http://davecunning.wordpress.com, listen to his podcast http://xppsp.podbean.com and follow him on Twitter: http://twitter.com/davecunning