EHF EURO

Men’s 20 EHF EURO opens for hosts Slovenia in best possible way

EHF/amc

20 July 2018, 11:11

Men’s 20 EHF EURO opens for hosts Slovenia in best possible way

Host nation Slovenia started the Men’s 20 EHF EURO in the best possible way – with a win, while strong favourites France were dismantled by Portugal in Celje.

The full playing schedule can be found HERE, and all games are free and live on ehfTV.com.

Group A
A best player of the match performance from HSG Wetzlar centre back Hendrik Schreiber with eight goals ensured his German side did not leave their opening match against Sweden empty-handed. The Germans had led at half-time 13:12, but the Swedes restricted their opponents to just nine second-half goals as the match ended all-square, in a 22:22 draw – which could prove to be crucial come the qualification through to the main round.

In the other match, Romania cruised to 10-goal victory against Iceland to win 29:19. It was the same difference at half-time as the Icelanders could only score five goals thanks to a combination of strong defence from Romania and a bad day in front of goal for Bjarni Fritzson’s team. CSM Bacau’s centre back Dragos Hantaru top-scored with seven goals and grabbed the best player award, although their FC Barcelona and senior team player Iosif Andrei Buzle, was shown the red card for three two-minute suspensions.

Group B
A host team doing well at a tournament always provides an extra boost for everyone involved – except for their opposition teams and Norway will feel no different after they lost 27:19 (11:9) to Slovenia in front of over 1,000 spectators in the Sportna Dvorana Golovec.

Down by just two at the break (11:9), Norway will look back at this match and wonder how they were outscored in the second period 16:10 as the hosts moved up through the gears to grab an opening win to settle their nerves.

Sasa Prapotnik will be pleased his young host-nation side spread the scoring about, with a best player of the match performance from left back Grega Ocvirk as the Celje Pivovarna Lasko player scored five goals in front of his home crowd, backed up by four apiece from Tilen Kosi and fellow Celje player Domen Makuc.

An eight-goal half-time lead was enough for Serbia to take it easy in the second half against Israel in the other group match as they ran out eventual 35:28 (21:13) winners. Even though RK Partizan’s left wing Aleksa Maksic top-scored with nine goals, the best player of the match performance came from Serbia’s goalkeeper Todor Jandric, clearly showing that Israel will be no easy match for their fellow group B challengers

Group C
Croatia beat Russia by four goals in their opening match to win 26:22 – but it could have been more had it not been for a best player of the match performance from Russian goalkeeper Denis Zabolotin.

In the other group C match, Spain extended their 15:12 half-time lead against Poland to win by nine (32:23) as Juan Antonio Sario Viciano scored seven to take the best player of the match honours.

Group D
A real upset occurred in Group D on the opening day as strong favourites France fell to a spirited and superior second-half display from the Portuguese who scored 20 goals in the second period to come back from a half-time deficit of 14:12 to take a four-goal win (32:28).

Já percebemos que para estes Sub-20 não existem impossíveis!! Vaaaaamooooooosssss 28 - 32 @m20ehfeuro #selecaonacionalandebol #letsgovamos #m20ehfeuro2018 #slovenia2018 #u20ech #vamoscomtudo #forçaportugal #andebol #portugal #andebolportugal pic.twitter.com/y7rvlD5HS5

— Federação de Andebol (@AndebolPortugal) July 19, 2018

Diogo Silva scored 12 goals in the match as Portugal showed their attacking intent in a high-scoring game as the key French player Kyllian Villeminot was restricted to just three strikes.

In the other match, another turnaround occurred with Denmark beat Hungary 23:22 (10:14) despite being behind by four at the break. Dominik Mathe, with 10 goals, did his best to inspire the Hungarians, but they will have to regroup ahead of matchday two tomorrow.

Later today, all teams are in action as they play their second, and for many, decisive match of the competition.

RESULTS – DAY ONE

Group A
Germany vs Sweden 22:22 (13:12)
Iceland vs Romania 19:29 (5:15)

Group B
Serbia vs Israel 35:28 (21:13)
Slovenia vs Norway 27:19 (16:10)

Group C
Croatia vs Russia 26:22 (14:10)
Spain vs Poland 32:23 (15:12)

Group D
France vs Portugal 28:32 (14:12)
Denmark vs Hungary 23:22 (10:14)