IHF/Yekaterinburg, Russia
Qatar crashed to a 24-17 defeat against Denmark in their opening Group C match at the IHF Men’s Youth World Championship in Yekaterinburg, Russia, yesterday.
It was a slow start to the game from both teams. Qatar were the first to score but once they put their first point on the board, it was almost 10 minutes before they got the ball past Denmark’s defence and goalkeeper Simon Gade again.
In the meantime, Denmark slowly increased the score line – though it was not without mistakes in their attack.
When Qatar scored their second goal in the 12th minute, Denmark held a narrow lead (4:2). Denmark switched keepers, with Emil Nielsen (65% save rate) coming in and saving a penalty shot in the 23rd minute to keep Denmark in the lead, but with just over five minutes left in the half it was still a low-scoring match (9:6).
Qatar relied heavily on Abdulaziz Helali, who was fresh from playing the IHF Men’s Junior World Championship in Brazil and scored three of his side’s goals in the first half.
As the first period ticked past the 28th minute both teams had players out on two-minute suspensions: Andreas Nielsen for Denmark and Qatar’s Moustafa Heiba. Qatar briefly came within two goals, but Denmark pulled ahead courtesy of some errors from their opponent as the period came to a close.
Qatar keeper Ahmed Abdelrhem made several saves in the opening minutes of the first half, but his team struggled to find their way through Denmark’s defence and the Scandinavian side were able to increase their advantage to seven by the 45th minute (18:11).
Denmark held on to that difference, and when they were still up by six with less than seven minutes left, it was clear they would claim the two points.
Switzerland vs Croatia
30:29 (13:13)
Just as they had been for Denmark and Qatar, first-game nerves were clearly a factor in the opening minutes of the second Group C match of the day.
Both goalkeepers – Noah Huber for Switzerland and Matija Spikic for Croatia – caused trouble for their opponent, keeping the score even throughout the first 10 minutes. But as the teams settled in to the game it was Switzerland who found their way, pulling ahead to lead by two goals in the 18th minute (9:7).
Croatia found Switzerland’s defensive weakness – quick play from the back court and fast feeds to wings David Mandic and Marko Jurakic helped them keep pace as the score line fluctuated between one to three goals. Croatia equalised as the half came to a close and the score was locked at half-time.
The second half saw the one-for-one scoring race continue. Switzerland’s attack was dominated by centre back Albin Alili (eight goals), who led his side through Croatia’s 5-1 defensive system. But Croatia were persistent – as the match neared the 50-minute mark (23:23) their active defence had helped them level the score as the teams fought toward the final whistle.
Action from the Qatar-Denmark match yesterday.
