2026-09-13, 08:22 PM - Word count:
Seoul entered the third matchday looking to pick up their first win of the season, however it would not come easy. Their opponent was undefeated Inter London, and it proved to be as difficult of a match as pundits and armchair coaches alike made it out to be. Through the first half hour of the match, neither side seemed to be gaining an edge, though what little there was was in favor of Inter London. The referees were in their books quickly as they booked Kim Heung-Min just six minutes into the game. A couple chances for London came around the halfway mark, an opportunity that saw their xG spike to almost 0.8. Still though, Kagenori held strong in the back for Seoul and kept the game even. However, disaster would strike for Seoul in the stoppage time at the end of the first half as Heung-Min picked up their second yellow, getting ejected from the game. Seoul was already in a difficult spot, but with a man down getting a win was nigh impossible, let alone a point. The halftime talk in the locker room was all about not letting those thoughts get to the players, to just play with confidence and poise as if it was still 11v11. After all, the game was still even. Despite the rousing halftime speech, Seoul was understandably unable to conjure any serious scoring threats against the fully-staffed London side. However, thanks to the incredible defending of Tyson Blaze, London hadn't netted the opener yet. Chances saw their xG head above 1.0, then above 1.5, yet the scoreline still showed 0-0. Despite a couple last ditch efforts, Seoul's defense managed to hold off the London attack, and salvage a point a man down against the top side in their division. While it wasn't a victory, and while Seoul had yet to claim a win, this draw felt very very good to get. The stat line showed just how much Seoul endured, being outshot 25-5, but with only four of those shots on target from Inter London, it was the blocking of the Seoul defense that was the highlight of the day.
