Incheon Metropolitan Government and Gwangju City Corporation battled to a 24-24 draw in the first round of the Shinhan SOL Pay 23-24 Handball H League Women’s Division at Gwangmyeong Citizens’ Gymnasium in Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi-do, on July 7.
With both teams having one loss apiece, the players of both teams played a passionate game to end the losing streak, but the match ended in a draw. Both teams shared one point each.
The first half was dominated by mistakes and goalkeeping. Incheon Metropolitan Government made a lot of mistakes, which kept them in the game. However, Gwangju City Corporation also made mistakes and went back and forth. Thanks to Park Jo-eun’s eight saves in the first half, Gwangju went into halftime with a 12-9 lead.
In the second half, the reversal and reversal of fortune kept the crowd cheering. At the start of the second half, Incheon Metropolitan Government’s defense tightened up, and Gwangju Urban Corporation’s mistakes led to six consecutive points and a quick 12-15 deficit.
Gwangju fought back, scoring its first goal until the 11th minute of the second half, and then took advantage of a two-minute stoppage for Incheon Metropolitan Government to score five goals in a row to regain the lead at 17-15.
However, the momentum shifted back to Incheon. They took advantage of Gwangju’s mistakes and scored three goals in a row to tie the game at 22-22.
With the score at 24-23, it looked like Incheon would take the victory as goalkeeper Lee Ga-eun made her 500th save. However, a foul with 30 seconds left, a 7-meter throw and a two-minute technical foul gave Gwangju a chance.
Kim Geum-soon converted to tie the game at 24-24, and as Gwangju lost the ball with three seconds left in their final attack, Park Jo-eun attempted a long shot at the opponent’s empty net, but it went wide of the goal to tie the game.
Kim Ji-hyun and Lee Ah-hyun led the Gwangju City Corporation offense with six goals each, while Park Jo-eun made 12 saves. Incheon Metropolitan Government was led by Kang Eun-seo with five goals and Shin Eun-joo, Lee Hyo-jin, and Lim Seo-young with four goals each, while Lee Ga-eun made nine saves.
Gwangju City Corporation goalkeeper Park Jo-eun, who was named MVP, was disappointed with her performance in the closing minutes, saying, “I think I was a little bit lacking.” “I became the MVP because my teammates played together, not because I was good,” he said, honoring his teammates.