Incheon City Corporation Secures 20th Victory: How They Dominated Hanam City Hall in H-League

Park Young-jun / Photo courtesy of the Korea Handball Federation

[Sports Today reporter Kang Tae-gu] Incheon Urban Corporation reached the 20-win mark and completed a five-game sweep of Hanam City Hall.

Incheon beat Hanam 30-27 in a men’s match of the Shinhan SOL Bank 25-26 Handball H League on April 4 at 4:10 p.m. at Samcheok Citizens Gymnasium in Samcheok, Gangwon Province.

The victory improved Incheon’s record to 20-3 (40 points), erasing the sting of their previous loss. Hanam City Hall, which has already clinched a playoff berth for the third consecutive season, sits at 11 wins, 1 draw and 11 losses (23 points).

The teams opened the first half on the front foot, trading early scores. An Incheon turnover looked like it might spring a Hanam fast break, but Hanam turned it over on the other end and the score stayed tied at 5-5. Incheon tightened its defense after that, and goalkeeper Ahn Jun-gi’s timely saves helped push them into a 10-8 lead.

Hanam tried to claw back on a midrange strike from Kim Jae-soon, but Lee Yosep kept up his scoring to keep Incheon ahead. A steal and ensuing fast break by Lee Yosep extended Incheon’s lead to three, but Hanam responded behind several saves from goalkeeper Park Jae-yong to close the half at 17-16, just one back.

The second half began with both teams failing on their first two attacks before Kim Ji-hoon tied it for Hanam. Hanam had an opportunity to take the lead but wasted it with a turnover. Incheon survived the scare, and goalkeeper Lee Chang-woo’s saves helped set up successive goals from Kim Rak-chan, Choi Hyun-geun and Jeon Jin-su to re-establish a 22-19 edge.

As the goalkeepers traded big stops, Hanam fought back with goals from Lee Byung-ju, Kim Chan-young and Lee Hyun-sik to pull within 23-22. Park Jae-yong’s save led to Won Seung-hyun’s goal to tie it at 23-23, and Lee Hyun-sik followed with an over shot to put Hanam briefly in front. Hanam then committed consecutive turnovers, and Incheon seized the moment with a five-goal run to open a 28-24 gap and seize control. Incheon held on to win 30-27.

Match MVP Park Young-jun said, “Now that we know each other’s tendencies, these games get tougher. We fell behind late when fatigue set in, but Chang-woo held the defense and gave us the platform to turn it around. The standings are already set, but we try to win every game, so we’ll give our all for the remaining matches.”

[Sports Today reporter Kang Tae-gu sports@stoo.com]
“Your closest, most fun news © Sports Today”