Daejeon City Hall's Stunning Victory: Can They Secure a Playoff Spot?

[Sports Today reporter Shin Seo-young] Daegu snapped a two-game skid and kept its postseason hopes alive with a win over Incheon.

Daegu beat Incheon 37-31 on the evening of the 5th at 6 p.m. at the Samcheok Citizen Gymnasium in Samcheok, Gangwon Province, in the Shinhan SOL Bank 25-26 Handball H League women's match.

The victory moved Daegu to 7 wins, 2 draws and 10 losses (16 points), closing to within two points of fourth-place Gyeongnam Development Corporation (18 points) and keeping the race for the postseason open. Incheon fell to 1 win, 1 draw and 17 losses (3 points).

Daegu jumped out early in the first half, riding strong saves from its goalkeeper to a 4-1 lead. After an Incheon turnover handed Daegu another chance, Daegu diversified its attack and pushed the lead to 9-3. Incheon brought Kang Eun-seo into the game to steady the offense, and the teams traded goals in a brief back-and-forth stretch.

Incheon found rhythm going forward but struggled to stop Daegu on defense, so it couldn’t chip away at the margin. Daegu spread the scoring: wing attacks from Lee Won-jeong and Ji Eun-hye, breakthroughs by No Hee-kyung and Kim Ye-jin, and midrange strikes from Jeong Ji-in. Goalkeeper Kang Eun-ji’s continued saves helped Daegu pull ahead to 20-10 — a 10-goal cushion. The first half ended with Daegu leading 20-11.

In the early stages of the second half, Incheon opened with consecutive goals from Jang Eun-seong and Lim Seo-young and looked to build momentum. But turnovers allowed Daegu to score three straight, and the gap swelled back to 23-13. Strong stops from Jang Seo-yeon ignited Incheon’s counter, and Kim Bo-hyeon’s wing goals cut the deficit to 26-19.

Incheon leaned on Cha Seo-yeon’s wing play to trim the lead to five and boost its momentum, but a string of errors halted the comeback. Daegu’s Lee Won-jeong converted consecutive fast breaks to push the margin back to eight and seize control. Daegu closed out the game, 37-31.

Named the game MVP, Jeong Ji-in said, “Losing the last match was heartbreaking, so this win was important. I’m relieved we earned two points.” She added, “We face fourth-place Gyeongnam Development Corporation next, so we want to carry the momentum from this win. If we attack with confidence, we’ll be fine. We’ll go for the next win and make sure we reach the postseason.”

[Sports Today reporter Shin Seo-young sports@stoo.com]
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