Underdogs Topple Title Hopefuls: Ansan Greeners Stun Jeonnam Dragons in Gwangyang, Throwing Promotion Race Wide Open

In a season where every match feels freighted with consequence, few would have predicted the drama that unfolded beneath the steel-gray skies of Gwangyang on Sunday afternoon. Jeonnam Dragons, one of K League 2’s promotion frontrunners, saw their momentum blunted in a shocking 0-1 defeat to a desperate, last-place Ansan Greeners—an upset with implications that could ripple well beyond a single October afternoon.

The Dragons arrived at Gwangyang Football Stadium buoyed by a torrent of goals and a five-match stretch that had yielded 10 critical points. The Greeners, meanwhile, staggered in as league cellar dwellers—winless in three and with a mere four victories to their name all season. On paper, this was a foregone conclusion. On grass, it was anything but.

First Half: Dragons Dominate, Greeners Endure

From the opening whistle, Jeonnam pressed the initiative. Their front three, led by the in-form Ronan and the mercurial Valdívia, probed the Greeners' high line with searching runs and crisp combination play. The best chance of the half belonged to Ronan, whose sizzling volley in the 23rd minute forced a spectacular diving save from Ansan’s goalkeeper—a moment that foreshadowed the afternoon’s theme. Each time the Dragons surged, Ansan’s back line scrambled, blocked, and survived.

The visitors, however, offered an early warning of their own intentions—a speculative long-range effort from Cho Ji-Hun in the 37th minute that fizzed just wide, reminding the home crowd that the Greeners had come to do more than just weather the storm.

Turning Point: Greeners Strike on the Counter

The storyline turned on its head midway through the second half. In the 68th minute, Ansan produced the match’s single, defining moment. Pressing high, Jeonnam’s midfield was caught out of shape. Eduardo, Ansan’s Brazilian playmaker, slipped a clever ball behind the defense to Kim Dong-Hyun, who raced onto it and finished low past the outstretched arms of Jeonnam keeper Kim Min-Joon. The away bench erupted. Against all odds, the Greeners led on hostile turf.

Stunned but undeterred, Jeonnam threw numbers forward. The Dragons carved out two golden opportunities in the closing ten minutes—first Valdívia curling a free kick narrowly over, then substitute Ku Hyun-Jun heading just wide off a corner. But the hero of the day was Ansan’s goalkeeper, Lee Seung-Gyu, who produced a string of brave saves and a point-blank stop from Ronan in stoppage time that will linger in the memories of both sets of supporters.

Context: A Blow to Jeonnam’s Promotion Ambitions

This defeat halts a run that had seen Jeonnam seize third place in the table, chasing automatic promotion with a lethal attack that had netted 11 goals in their last three matches. With 55 points from 33, their cushion over the chasing pack suddenly feels less secure. More galling still: their recent head-to-head dominance over Ansan—most recently a 2-0 win on August 23—counted for little on a day that demanded ruthlessness rather than résumé.

For Ansan, the result is nothing less than a lifeline. Having managed just 22 points all season—four wins, ten draws, nineteen losses—few gave them hope of nicking a result here. Yet this victory, only their fifth of the campaign, lifts morale and injects a dose of belief into a squad fighting for dignity at the foot of the table.

The Whistle Blows: What’s at Stake

Jeonnam’s slip complicates a promotion race already thick with subplots. With just three games left, every dropped point reverberates. The Dragons must now regroup, rediscover their attacking fire, and avoid letting this setback spiral into a crisis of confidence. Their margin for error has narrowed; their fate remains in their own hands, but the pressure mounts.

For Ansan Greeners, Sunday was perhaps more than three points. It was a rare taste of what could be—a reminder that on any given day, even the deepest underdogs have their say in the narrative of a long, grinding season. With a daunting fixture list ahead, they will need to summon this spirit again to avoid finishing bottom of the table.

Gwangyang’s scoreboard told the story: Dragons 0, Greeners 1. For ninety minutes, the old order was upended. And with the promotion chase tightening, the echoes will be felt well into November.