The Sideline Notes: 26.3 The Wilds of Incheon

While browsing the Instagram accounts of the WK League teams, I noticed each team had a post explaining what the QR code we used at the previous match was about. How did I miss this last week? In the posts, we are asked to register with the KWFF site, where we are given a personal QR code to use at matches. Based on the site and my profile, the KWFF will track which matches we attend and add them to our profile. (Update: After this match, there was no change to the "Participation Details" or "Viewing Details" on my profile.) There is also a temporary QR code available on site for those who dont want to register. I save the personal QR Code to my phone for quicker access later.

Namdong Asiad Rugby Stadium is the home field of Incheon Hyundai Steel Red Angels WFC. I've visited this stadium many times over the years to watch the Korean national rugby team compete in the Asian Rugby Championships and the local edition of the Asian 7s tour. It's a nice stadium, but if you don't live close by, then it's just annoying to reach. I can get a bus from Oido Station, which arrives every 40-60 minutes, or I can use a more frequent bus from Incheon Nangyeong Station, with the Suin-Nundang Line trains arriving every 30-40 minutes. My map app says the bus will arrive soon, and I chose that option.

I've only ever been to Oido station on weekends, and most of the food stalls outside the stations are closed when I pass by. I've always wondered how they make money when they are never open, but now I understand. Evening commuters stream out of the station, and some stop for a quick snack. Off to the side are two racks. The racks contain pamphlets advertising a Bible course and informing on "the good news". Two women stand nearby, earning brownie points with God for doing nothing at all. Honestly, that is the point here?

I head over to the bus stop, happy to see that the bus will arrive in just 6 minutes. The buses going in opposite directions arrive at the same station, and even though they dont stop at the same spot, I'm not aware of that, so when I see my bus arrive, I jog over and jump on. About 10 minutes into the trip, I start feeling uneasy. I look at the map and realise I'm travelling away from the stadium. Not cool! I get off as soon as I'm able, and interestingly, the stop is just a block away from the K7 League, Siheung Division grounds, which I visited two or three years ago. Memories! As mentioned, the bus runs infrequently, and the next bus is 40 minutes away. The match starts in 30 minutes, so a taxi is the only sensible and expensive solution. And they wonder why lower league and women's football is so poorly attended.

I arrive 10 minutes after kick-off. It's obvious because the only people visible are two staff members at the entrance. If the stadium lights were not visible, you'd be forgiven for thinking nothing is happening here. I grab a blow-up noise maker from the table, scan my newly acquired QR code and make my way up the stairs. First, I head around to a photo of the field and stand, and I'm not surprised by how few spectators there are. Maybe I should be because on top of the difficulty of reaching the stadium, it's Friday evening, and it's cold. If this match were not part of my season's adventure, I would never have made this trip.

With the photo collected, find a seat on what seems to be the visiting team side. It's a good thing I packed something warm. The lower parts of the stand are not well covered, and it feels freezing cold. Maybe the people who stayed at home are the clever ones? A few seats from me sits a man whom I remember from the Suwon match. He doesn't seem like he wants to be social, so I ignore him. If I see him at the next match, I will greet him. Maybe by the end of the season, I'll have a new acquaintance. I'm adding him to my side quest to be more social and meet fellow football supporters.

Once I settle in my seat, the frustration of being late starts to dissipate. It's like when you finally take your seat on an aeroplane, and somehow you feel like all your holiday is finally starting. Soon enough, I'm so relaxed that I fish out the tube of potato chips and a can of lemonade from my bag. It's time to start enjoying the match.

For the first half, Seoul plays from our right to our left with the Seoul goalkeeper, Kim Jeong-Mi, in front of us. I know she was with Incheon for a long time, so what must it be like for her to play here today? As strange as it might feel for her to see players in red uniforms trying to put a ball past her, it must also feel strange for some of the players to hear her shouting instructions on the far side of the pitch instead of behind them.

I get sidetracked, look up Kim Jeong-Mi on my magic rectangle (my phone). Incheon was her first and only club until she signed with Seoul. She spent 21 years here, longer than some players have been alive. She was an Incheon and National Team mainstay for most of her career, but it seems age caught up with her, and during the 2025 season, Jo Eo-Jin replaced her as first-choice keeper, signalling that it might be time to retire or move on. She was clearly not ready to retire.

Around me are a few other Seoul supporters. We are about 20 in total. Most of us are quiet as mice, but that is only slightly less quiet than the Incheon supporters on the other side. Over there, I can head two people and a drum, half-heartedly lead the supporters in cheers. It must be difficult to get 150 spectators scattered over a third of the stand to join in. Every time the cheerleader stops cheering, the stadium is so quiet that we can clearly hear the action on the field itself.

Possibly the noisiest supporters in the whole stadium are two people and their dog, behind me. The dog is wearing a warm shirt and sits inside a carrier. I wish I had a way to shelter from the cold. The couple cheer the on-field action with clack-clack from blue plastic clappers in the shape of hands. Where did they get them? I want one.

The match on the field is interesting. The teams seem well-matched, and momentum shifts from side to side every few minutes. Both teams have their chances. I didn't grow up playing or even watching football, and there is a lot that I'm not even aware of, so this season I'm trying to learn more about tactics and strategy. In the past, I've always approached football with the mind of someone who just loves watching people compete. But today, I focus on understanding what happens when the goalkeepers have the ball. It seems like a good place to start, because the game comes to a temporary stop, and there is a definite starting point for the action. Looking at the match today, it seems like Seoul is playing a heavy pressing game. At least one of the attackers will always rush the Incheon goalkeeper if they are allowed to. When Seoul is in possession, they seem to favour a slow build-up from the back, until they get to the halfway line, when all bets are off. And that, for now, is the extent of my strategic understanding. I am gathering resources to help me learn, and I'll compare that with what I see on field during the season. Hopefully, it will give me a greater appreciation of the sport.

Today, the deciding goal comes with only minutes left on the clock. And inchen player finds herself with space and runs at the goal, prompting the goalkeeper to rush towards her. When the Incheon player takes the shot, the ball hits the goalkeeper in the face at short range, and she goes down. The ball bounces away, but the goalkeeper remains sitting, immediately raising her hand to indicate that she is injured. A Seoul defender standing next to her also raises her hand to get the attention of the referee. However, when the ball goes straight to an onrushing Incheon player, who looks up, sees the empty goal, and lobs it in. There is nothing illegal about the goal, but an Incheon player was standing right next to the downed goalkeeper, waving her hands, pointing and shouting that the goal is open. The goalkeeper is a dangerous position, and they often risk serious injury to do their jobs. I believe it's just good sportsmanship to stop play, possibly by kicking the ball out, when one of the goalkeepers is down. It is definitely bad sportsmanship to use that opportunity to score on an open goal, and more so to encourage your teammate to do so.

Overall, it was a decent day out. A few things took away from the experience, namely the transportation confusion, the cold, and the manner in which the deciding goal was scored. However, these are not always problems to complain about, because they make our adventures more memorable and give us something to talk about. After all, The Odyssey isn't a great story because Odysseus boarded the KTX and came straight home, is it?

Social Media Posts: Seoul
Match Announcement
Match Result

Social Media Post: Incheon
Match Announcement
Match Day Squad
Match Result