The offense was led by 12 goals from Shin Jae-seop and seven from Park Kwang-soon, while goalkeeper Park Jae-yong made 11 saves. Shin reached 400 career goals and 100 assists in his 14th career match.
The SK Hawks defeated Hanam City Hall for their seventh straight win and reclaimed first place in the standings a day later. Hanam City Hall had its four-game winning streak snapped.
SK Hawks beat Hanam City Hall 33-30 on Tuesday at SK Handball Stadium in Songpa-gu, Seoul, for their seventh straight win in the second game of the third round of the Shinhan SOL Pay 23-24 Handball H League Men’s Division at the SK Handball Stadium.
With the win, the SK Hawks return to first place with eight wins, two draws and two losses and 18 points. Henan Municipal Government remained in fourth place with five wins, two draws and five losses and 12 points.
The two teams tied 28-28 in Game 1, with the SK Hawks winning Game 2 30-27, before taking Game 3 by three points.
The first half was a fast-paced affair, with both teams scoring easily with their light and strong offense. Hanam City Government marked SK Hawks’ Lee Hyun-sik well, and Park Kwang-soon and Shin Jae-seop’s mid-range shots were powerful. The SK Hawks scored evenly through a variety of attacks with good speed and passing, with Jang Dong-hyun and Park Sun-geun leading the attack.
In the first half, the game was tightly contested as Hanam City Hall scored first and SK Hawks countered. Then, a foul by the SK Hawks gave them a 6-4 lead. However, a series of errors by Hanam City Hall allowed SK Hawks to score three straight goals to take a 12-11 lead.
The first half ended with the SK Hawks leading 18-15 after Hanam City Hall tried to utilize a pivot, but missed a pass.
Early in the second half, the gap widened to 23-18 after a save by SK Hawks goalkeeper Yunus. Hanam City Hall struggled to break through the SK Hawks’ defense. However, a two-minute technical foul by the SK Hawks allowed Hanam City to pull within one point, 26-25.
SK Hawks scored two points in a row again to extend the lead to three points, 28-25. Hanam City Hall pulled within 31-30 with a minute left, but the SKhawks took the lead when Lee Hyun-sik, who had been struggling with Hanam City Hall’s defense, scored a goal. The SKhawks eventually won the game 33-30.
Lee Hyun-sik, Jang Dong-hyun, Yeon Min-mo, Park Ji-seop, and Park Soon-geun all scored five goals apiece for the SK Hawks, while Yunus made eight saves in goal. Yeon Min-mo reached 200 career goals.
Hanam City led the offense with 12 goals from Shin Jae-seop and seven from Park Kwang-soon, while goalkeeper Park Jae-yong made 11 saves. Shin reached 400 goals and 100 assists for the 14th time in his career.
“We were worried about whether we could play well because we had injuries, but it’s good to win,” said SK Hawks’ Lee Hyun-sik, who was named the match MVP with five goals and nine assists. “The injured players filled in what we couldn’t do, and we filled in what they couldn’t do, and we became a team, which is the secret of our seven-game winning streak.”
