Yuri Jonathan sinks Gimpo in FA Cup monsoon | OneFootball

Yuri Jonathan's expertly placed back post header three minutes into stoppage time earned Jeju United a spot in the semi-finals of the Korean Cup. Gimpo performed valiantly again but their Cup ride is over for another season. At times, the pitch resembled a swimming pool but that both sides were able to offer an entertaining affair was simply heroic.

Gimpo FC 0

Jeju United 1 (Yuri Jonathan 93')

Spare a thought for K League 2 title-contenders Gimpo FC. For the second season running, they embarked on a wonderful cup run but this year it ended deep into injury time thanks to Yuri Jonathan's expert finish. Gimpo had enough chances in the previous 92 minutes to cause another shock but on a night ruined by horrible weather conditions, their dream of cup silverware has come to an end.

Jeju United will be delighted to have survived not just a major scare, but the inclement weather that made a farce out of the contest in the opening half, especially. Like any good cup team, they rode their luck throughout the 90 minutes, but when the opportunity presented itself to Yuri, he made no mistake. At the final whistle, all eleven Gimpo players sunk to their knees in utter dejection.

Jeju, meanwhile, had a party in front of their soaked and impressive traveling support.

The rain had been tumbling all day in Gimpo, making the pitch completely unplayable, and, in all likelihood, rendering the game uncompetitive, even if both sides were affected equally. Pre-match, Jeju United manager Kim Hak-beom disagreed with that last point. He felt the heavily waterlogged pitch would have a greater impact on his technically superior players. In reality, it was hard to find any truth to that comment as every pass fell yards short of their intended target.

There were at least eight giant puddles in every part of the field by kick-off. The rain never relented and as every pass was swallowed up in the ever-deepening puddles, we began to watch the pitch to catch a glimpse of two giant puddles suddenly merging, to create a sort of asuper-puddle. It might be childish but it was a reflection of how shocking the surface was.

It wasn't just wayward passes the fans were concerned about. There is always the risk of a serious knee injury as a player makes a sudden direction change, owing to the unpredictable flight of the ball. On 11 minutes, Jeju had several attempts to clear the ball into touch, but on each occasion, it traveled no more than two yards. Is it even possible to host anything close to a good game of football when the weather is this awful?

Spare a thought for the media corps (if you will) who were left with no choice but to steal all the toilet paper from the bathrooms to wipe down their seats and tables. I know journalists don’t get much sympathy from paying supporters, but it was genuinely amusing to see the Gimpo security team go from table to table to retrieve the knicked paper.

Our respect for both teams grew the longer the game went on. Gimpo were hoping to reach a Cup semi-final in front of their faithful, in the process performing another giant-killing, but how could they perform as we would have liked? The same applies to Jeju, roared on by around 150-orange clad fans behind the only goal at Solteo with a stand. There was a sense, even early on, that the first goal would be the winner. And so it proved.

Speaking of Solteo’s recent redevelopments, as anyone who has been following the site will know, Gimpo spent almost all of the first four months playing away as upgrades took place. The club has added two small stands, uncovered, on either side of the partially covered main stand. Across the pitch, 12 rows have been added above the original structure. Without a running track, this automatically qualifies Solteo for one of the best stadium awards in K League 2, even if it looks temporary and unfinished.

It was surprising that both teams created some decent chances in the opening half. Jeju's Jin Seong-uk missed a sitter and on the stroke of half-time, then Gimpo forced two great saves from An Chan-ki. I don’t think it was an exaggeration to say all 22 players, match officials, substitutes, and the 1,500 fans in attendance wouldn’t have cared who scored as long as it didn’t go further. In fact, the rainfall in the last five minutes was so atrocious, we were forced to pack our laptops away and hope no goals were scored.

Half time. Hallelujah.

Jeju's Jin then had another big chance to open the second half. The blonde-haired forward could easily have departed with the match ball, but he scuffed or failed to properly connect with every chance.

As the rain subsided, Gimpo began further flexing their muscle, mocking Kim’s pre-match comments. The pitch had nothing to do with Gimpo’s clear superiority in the opening quarter hour of the first half. But just as it looked like an opener was inevitable, Galego brought out a sensational reflex save from the home keeper. The corner came to nothing but it was the closest either team had come to open the scoring.

Bruno’s pace was causing problems for Gimpo and because of this, every hopeful punt downfield was chased and turned into an opportunity. Midway through the half, Gimpo manager made a double change, bringing in Luis Mina and Conor Chapman, but keeping Bruno on the field. It was an exciting prospect with Bruno’s pace and Luis Mina’s finishing potentially being the difference.

Jin then missed his third good chance before Leonard Pllana was given fifteen minutes of normal time to change the course of the game and within a few seconds, he produced the most outrageous piece of skill of the night. Chasing down a lost cause, he flick-volleyed a cross straight to Luis Mina's head. Unfortunately, the contact wasn't strong enough. Pllana's intervention was outrageous that had Mina scored, it would have been a viable contender for goal of the season.

But just as we settled in for 30 extra minutes, Yuri Jonathan won the game in the 93rd minute with a superb header at the back post. Cue pandemonium on the away bench. Gimpo sank into the water and never resurfaced. Jeju scarped through but what a game. What a night.

Up next

Gimpo FC remain at Solteo for a mouthwatering clash this Sunday against league leaders FC Anyang. Gimpo knocked Anyang out of the cup early this year and then salvaged a goalless draw in Anyang in May. Gimpo's record against the men in purple is very good; unbeaten in five with two draws bookending three straight wins. Ten points separate the Gyeonggi rivals.

Jeju United are currently 7th on 29 points, one back from FC Seoul. They have a nasty away trip to Gangneung next, to face K League 1 surprise package Gangwon FC. As the match takes place on Saturday, plans to travel directly to Gangneung instead of flying back home. This is the third meeting between the two clubs. Gangwon have taken four points from six.

Attendance: 1,508