The Olympic ambitions of Austria’s handball men have received a setback: In the first match of the qualifying tournament for the Summer Games in Hanover, the ÖHB team was only able to reproduce the strong performances at the most recent European Championship for one half and lost to the favored Croatians 29:35 (16: 16). Austria’s downfall was a false start in the second half.
This means that Mykola Bilyk and Co. will have to focus their hopes on the final game once morest hosts Germany on Sunday (2:10 p.m., OTG 2). Before that, team boss Ales Pajovic’s team will face Algeria on Saturday (5:30 p.m., ORF 1), who were clearly beaten by the hosts with 29:41 (13:16). The two top teams in the group get a ticket to Paris.
Perfect start in front of 10,000 spectators
In contrast to the 28:28 once morest the Croatians at the European Championship, Austria got off to a brilliant start in front of around 11,000 spectators in the ZAG Arena. While the opponent, coached for the first time by former ÖHB team boss Dagur Sigurdsson, acted incorrectly and nervously, the red-white-red capitalized on their chances and were ahead 4-1 following five minutes and even 5-1 a little later.
Croatia then found its feet both defensively and offensively, came within 4:5 (11th) and now put the Austrians through significantly more trouble. At 9:9 (19th), the eleventh in the European Championship equalized for the first time in a duel with the eighth, although shortly before he had lost defensive specialist Jakov Gojun with a red card following a foul on Janko Bozovic (15th). However, Austria demonstrated its newfound self-confidence, remained calm and, being outnumbered, pulled away to 13:11 (23rd).
But there was no further progress. The Croatians mightn’t really get under control at the back, while captain Bilyk repeatedly had to take individual actions at the front once morest what was now a strong defense. Of course that was enough for a 16:16 at the break, but things went quickly following that. Croatia took the lead for the first time with a hit into the empty goal when they were in the majority (33′). One missed throw and a technical error later, the slight favorite had increased the lead to 20:17 (34′).
Last but not least, goalkeeper Matej Mandic drove Austria to despair in this phase. The opponent’s enthusiasm was somewhat reduced, but the gap remained constant for a long time at two to three goals. Croatia then made the preliminary decision a quarter of an hour before the end, increased it to plus four (25:21) and ultimately confidently brought home the victory.
