Where did it go wrong for Suwon Bluewings?

The basic facts first: Jeju SK claimed a precious victory at Big Bird thanks to Yuri Jonathan’s 68th-minute penalty. A few minutes earlier, Jeju had legitimate calls for a penalty waved away by the referee. The visitors shaded the possession stats (51–49%), although it didn’t look that way from the stands. Suwon, however, outshot their opponents 17–5, with 10 on target to Jeju’s two. They also won 11 corner kicks to Jeju’s one. All of this unfolded in front of 18,700 frozen spectators.

Where did it go wrong for Suwon Bluewings?

1. Kim Min-jun

To be clear, Kim Min-jun did not lose the match for Suwon. This was a team and management effort. Unfortunately, the goalkeeper has to take a sizable chunk of the blame for a substandard performance. And it goes beyond the penalty concession that led to the only goal of the match. But let’s start with that first: there was no reason for Kim to come to the edge of his box and meet Yu In-soo with his legs spread and his arms half-tucked.

Goalkeeper Kim Min-jun had a very tough outing on Wednesday.

Does the goalkeeper know he can use his hands? Why is he sprinting to the edge of the box anyway? Even if Yu gathers possession, he’s facing the goal line, not the posts. Where was the danger that necessitated such a decision?

Kim’s footwork, passing, and clearances under pressure are nowhere near good enough for this level. He passed the ball to supporters in the stands almost as often as to his teammates. Under pressure, he struggles to get the ball out from under his feet. Apply pressure, and he folds. Nothing else in his game compensates for these major deficiencies.

And then there’s his positioning. Not for the first time this year, Kim has gotten his angles all wrong. He stands too far off his line, and he charges out for balls and crosses he cannot win. He’s also prone to using his hands dangerously close to the edge of the box. This is a keeper who looks like he’s learning on the job—or like an outfield player asked to deputize after the goalkeeper was injured or sent off with no replacement available.

I don’t want to initiate a career assassination of a 25-year-old goalkeeper, but from his time in Japan and Korea, Kim has accumulated 80 appearances. He should be better than he showed last night.

2. The Manager

Would it be unfair to say Byun Sung-hwan has failed (or, at best, only reached parity) in all of his major challenges as manager of Suwon Samsung Bluewings? The former K League, Korea Cup, and ACL champions don’t have many true competitors in the second division in terms of resources and squad depth. Incheon is one, and Suwon were decidedly second best in that championship battle.

The loss to Jeju is another disappointing result. Of course, the season is not over yet. But with a quick turnaround before the second leg, Byun faces the biggest challenge of his career: turning this around. It can be done, but is he ultimately the right man to do it? We shall see. If he does, then none of this will matter when Suwon are drunk on the sweet taste of promotion.

Byun’s team selection was mostly correct. A case could have been made for Park Ji-won on the flank, given his form this season that saw him nominated for the Best XI. Park is slightly unorthodox—quick and nippy, often with the singular goal of putting his head down and driving toward goal. If Suwon wanted to start Bruno Silva, that’s a fair call. But waiting until the 81st minute to make that change was baffling.

Manager Byun Sung-hwan needs a figure out a way to overturn this deficit.

Yuri Jonathan scored in the 67th minute. Byun made his first substitution seven minutes later, replacing Kim Ji-hyun with Kim Hyun. Bruno Silva made way for Park in the 81st, and Paulinho for Stanislav Iljutcenko in the 89th. Were these changes made too late?

Another issue with Wednesday’s performance: Plan A was sending 30-yard diagonal balls to Lee Ki-jae on the left and Matheus Serafim on the right. Plan B was to do Plan A one more time. As time wound down, Suwon were completely out of ideas. Once Lee’s reliable left foot began to wane in the second half, and Jeju were able to double up on Serafim, the Bluewings were in big trouble. They averaged two goals a game in K League 2, but Jeju’s back five, when out of possession, locked everything down after the break.

The groans grew louder as the match went on. It was like watching the same movie over and over again.

3. Who played well?

Jeju were a shambles in the opening 25 minutes. One moment really stood out: goalkeeper Kim Dong-jun tried to start a quick counterattack from a corner. He threw the ball out to Lim Chang-woo (I think), who started running upfield. Lim forgot to take the ball with him. Jeju resembled a Sunday league side—strangers playing together for the first time. Captain Lee Chang-min and forward Nam Tae-hee could be seen berating their teammates early on.

Suwon had to strike then. Kim Ji-hyun went really close after a lovely flick from Iljutcenko. Serafim was causing huge problems down the right wing, and the Bluewings looked confident, assured, and on top. But it just… fizzled out. Jeju weren’t posing any threat (no shots on target in the first half). Suwon, however, let them back into the game. Early in the second half, Jeju were already settling for a draw. Kim Dong-jun was in no rush to clear his lines.

So what happened? Once Suwon’s main supply line—Serafim—was cut off, nobody else stepped up. Kim Ji-hyun started brightly, sending his early shot just wide. He was the first player to be subbed off. Iljutcenko had some lovely touches, especially in the opening half. However, he is now eight matches without a goal. Is Bruno Silva fully fit? He picked up a knock in the first half.

The danger man, Matheus Serafim, was frustrated in the second half.

None of Suwon's outfield players played particularly badly, but Byun had every right to expect more from them. Suwon clearly missed Lee Gyu-sung in midfield. He is the conductor of their machine—an accomplished passer who covers well and helps marshal the defense. The midfield duo of Hong Won-jun and Lee Min-hyuk needed to grab hold of this fixture as the result began to slip away. They needed to make some central runs, targeting the heart of Jeju's defense. At the very least, it would have given the visitors something different to think about.

Special mention to some of the Jeju players, who deserve enormous credit. Italo didn't win the man of the match award - that always goes to the goal scorer - but the Brazilian was ferocious in midfield. His yellow card could have been upgraded, but otherwise Italo dominated Suwon physically. Kim Dong-jun showed the importance of an established goalkeeper, and Nam Tae-hee created space with his clever runs.

4. Conceding the first goal again

Hello darkness, my old friend.

Jeju marked the 18th time in 40 league or playoff matches this season that Suwon have fallen behind. It doesn't take a genius to see how detrimental this is to their chances of winning. In almost 50% of their matches, the team ended up chasing the game. Chasing matches requires a completely different kind of energy than playing with a lead. How was this allowed to happen all season?

Of those 18 matches, Suwon came from behind to win only three times. Jeju at home was the eight match conceding the first goal cost them entirely. All those dropped points could well be their downfall.

Suwon's obituary hasn’t been written just yet. Buoyed by a massive traveling army, they can go to Jeju and win on Sunday. Away goals don’t count. This is their time.