Park Hyung-jin explains the meaning of the ceremony after scoring the winning goal for Bucheon FC 1995.

Bucheon defeated Gimpo FC 2-0 at Bucheon Sports Complex in Bucheon, Gyeonggi-do, on Sept. 29 in the 15th round of the Hana OneQ K League 2 2023. Bucheon (25 points) handed Gimpo, which was unbeaten in the league this season, its first defeat and moved up to fourth place, closing in on third-place Gimpo (7 wins, 5 draws, 1 loss, 26 points).

Bucheon took the lead in the eighth minute of the second half through Ahn Jae-jun’s penalty kick, and a late goal in the 40th minute put the game out of reach. Park Hyung-jin was the hero of the game. Park entered the game in the 35th 안전놀이터 minute and received a pass from Choi Jae-young inside the penalty box. He was blocked by the opponent’s goalkeeper and defenders, and was unable to shoot straight away, but he remained focused and won the ball back to score.

At the post-match press conference, Park Hyung-jin said, “I’m glad we got the three points. Our opponent was Gimpo, who was undefeated, so the victory was even more valuable,” he said.

When asked about the goal, he said, “The opponent was pulled out and I saw a space, so I penetrated into the space, and Jae-young made a timely pass. If I had scored a little smoother, it would have helped Jae Young-i, but….I’m glad I scored anyway.”

After scoring, Park tucked the ball into his jersey and performed a ceremony. He said, “My wife is pregnant. She’s 20 weeks along. I couldn’t do it the first time, but the second time I did it, so I think my wife will be very happy.”

On this day, Bucheon held an event to invite the families of the players. Park Hyung-jin said, “I wanted my wife to score a goal, too, but I’m glad she did. She had a checkup today, so she couldn’t come. It would have been better if she could have come, but it’s okay because she scored a goal and did a ceremony,” he laughed.

Park joined Bucheon ahead of this season after a long stint with Suwon Samsung. “Bucheon did well last year,” Park said. When I joined, I thought I should help Bucheon get promoted to K League 1. There were a lot of young players, so as a senior, I wanted to be the center of the team. That’s what the coach asked me to do,” he said, explaining his role.

When asked about his juniors, he said, “All the players are good, including (Kim) Sang-ho, (Seo) Myung-kwan, and (Ahn) Jae-joon. They’re all sincere. I think we’re a healthy team.”