Top two clubs to duel for domestic football championship in season finale

The top two-ranked clubs in the nation's first-division football league will duel for the championship in the year's final match on Sunday, a historic occasion ripe with late-season drama.

With the 2013 K League Classic crown on the line, the first-place Ulsan Hyundai will host the No. 2-ranked Pohang Steelers at 2 p.m. on Sunday at Munsu Football Stadium in Ulsan, about 410 kilometers southeast of Seoul.

Ulsan leads the league with 73 points, and Pohang is right behind with 71 points. Ulsan can clinch its first championship in eight years with at least a draw. Pohang can claim the league title for the first time since 2007 with a victory on Sunday.

This is the 31st season of professional football in South Korea, and in 15 of those seasons, the league didn't have playoffs and the first-place team at the end of the season was crowned the champion.

And the Ulsan-Pohang showdown marks the first matchup between the top two-ranked clubs in the season finale with the league championship at stake.

Ulsan could have clinched the title with a win over the sixth-ranked Busan IPark on Wednesday, but Busan came from behind to take the game 2-1 and put Ulsan's celebration plans on hold.

Ulsan had won six consecutive matches prior to that loss.

Earlier on the same day, Pohang defeated FC Seoul 3-1 to set up the dramatic finish against Ulsan while extending its winning streak to six.

Ulsan leads the head-to-head meetings this year with two wins and a draw but will be shorthanded for the most important match of the season.

The team's striker Kim Shin-wook, who has scored the league-best 19 goals, has been suspended for the finale after picking up his second yellow in as many games on Wednesday.

Brazilian forward Rafinha, Kim's sidekick with 11 goals, also got a yellow card on Wednesday and will be ineligible against Pohang.

The absence of the team's two leading scorers will force head coach Kim Ho-gon to scramble to find new offensive combinations.

Also out of action will be Brazilian playmaker Caquie, who injured his right thigh in a game against Suwon Bluewings last Saturday.

"We have other forwards who can step in," Kim said after Wednesday's loss. "Pohang is on a good roll, but our players have done well at home this season."

Ulsan boasts a 14-1-3 win-loss-draw record at home in 2013.

Even though a draw will suffice for his club, Kim said he will look to clinch the title before home fans with a win.

"Games that you only need to draw are actually more difficult to win (than must-win contests)," Kim said. "We will play to win."

Pohang has put together an impressive run this season without the services of foreign players. While most clubs rely on their imported players to carry their offense or shore up their defense, Pohang's all-Korean team won the FA Cup earlier this season and is now on the verge of adding the K League Classic trophy to its mantelpiece.

Pohang would then become the first club to win both the FA Cup and the league championship in the same year.

For Pohang, forward Noh Byeong-jun is enjoying a career renaissance at the age of 34, having scored three goals in his last two games. He said he didn't think Pohang would come this close to the league title this year, and said he will try to capitalize on the opportunity to win the league championship for the first time.

"Over 10 years in football, I've won everything but the league title," said Noh, who debuted in 2002 with Chunnam Dragons and has won the AFC Champions League once and the FA Cup three times. "This is my ultimate, final dream as a player."

Noh confessed that his age has caught up to him but he doesn't mind the tag 'veteran.'

"I am just trying to keep up with my younger teammates, who've been excellent all year," Noh said. "But you know the saying about old soldiers. They never die." (Yonha News)