▲ Gangwon FC players
Professional football club Gwangju FC has suffered the dishonor of setting a new K League 1 record for the longest consecutive winless streak at 23 matches.
In the away match of the Hana Bank K League 1 2026 Round 25 against Gangwon FC held at the Gangneung High1 Arena on August 26, Gwangju took the lead with two goals from Moon Min-seo, but conceded consecutive goals to Gang Tu-ji and Kim Dong-hyun late in the second half, ending the game in a 2-2 draw.
Sitting at the bottom of the table, Gwangju let a seemingly secured victory slip away against Gangwon, which was placed at a numerical disadvantage following Hong Chul's red card, leaving them with 12 points (1 win, 9 draws, 15 losses).
Above all, Gwangju extended its winless run to 23 consecutive matches (8 draws, 15 losses) since a 3-2 home victory against Incheon United in Round 2 on March 7, setting a new record in this category.
Gwangju had previously shared the record for the most consecutive winless matches in the top tier of professional football (22 matches, 5 draws, 17 losses) with Bucheon SK (now Jeju SK), which was set across two seasons from November 2002 to July 2003.
Within a single season, Gwangju was already the K League 1 team with the most consecutive winless matches.
Now, Gwangju is just two games away from the all-time record for consecutive winless matches across both K League 1 and 2, which was set by Goyang Zaicro (now defunct) in 2016 with 25 matches (8 draws, 17 losses).
Gangwon maintained 4th place with 36 points (9 wins, 9 draws, 6 losses).
Daejeon Hana Citizen secured a thrilling 2-1 comeback victory by scoring two goals in stoppage time of the second half in their home match against Ulsan HD.
With 32 points (8 wins, 8 draws, 9 losses), Daejeon climbed from 10th to 9th place.
Ulsan, sitting in 3rd place after falling into a 3-match losing streak following a 3-match winning run, remained at 37 points (11 wins, 4 matces, 10 losses).
Ulsan seized the lead in the 4th minute of the second half when Lee Jin-hyun intercepted a careless back-pass by Daejeon defender Cho Sung-kwon, drove into the penalty area, and scored with a right-footed shot in a one-on-one situation with the goalkeeper.
It was Lee Jin-hyun's first goal of the season, scored on his 29th birthday.
However, Daejeon leveled the score in the 49th minute of the second half when Jung Jae-hee finished off a header pass from Rubikson with a right-footed shot from the right side of the goal area.
Then, in the 52nd minute of the second half, Rubikson headed in a cross from Jung Jae-hee on the left side of the goal area to complete a dramatic comeback.
FC Anyang escaped a slump of four consecutive defeats by using Incheon United, which had been on an upward trajectory with a 6-match unbeaten run, as a stepping stone.
Anyang defeated Incheon 2-1 in their home match, propelled by Matheus's multiple goals.
Anyang, which had lost all matches played in August including a humiliating 0-7 defeat against FC Seoul in the previous round, claimed its first points of the month with a precious victory, bringing its total to 33 points.
On the other hand, Incheon, which had been gaining momentum with a 6-match unbeaten streak in the league (3 wins, 3 draws), suffered a painful defeat and stayed put at 33 points.
Although tied with Anyang in points, Incheon handed 7th place to Anyang as they fell behind in goals scored (Anyang 32 goals, Incheon 31 goals).
(Photo provided by Korea Professional Football League, Yonhap News)
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