Qatar clinch two more points with win over Algeria

A Qatari player (in maroon) in action during their Group C match against Algeria in Yekaterinburg, Russia, yesterday. Qatar won the match 25-21.

Qatar posted their second win in three matches when they beat Algeria in a close game that ended with a strong final 10 minutes by coach Julian Gomez’s men at the 2015 IHF Men’s Youth World Championship in Yekaterinburg, Russia, yesterday. Qatar won 25-21.With a strong squad backed by goalkeeper Ahmed Abdelrhem, Qatar were the favourites ahead of the game. The Asian side were in control through the opening minutes as Algeria took a while to settle in. Algeria put their first in the net just before the five-minute mark and the score was level at 1-1. Qatar took the lead and began to increase it against Algeria’s 3:3 defence, and by the 17th minute led by three goals (7-4).But Qatar then failed to score for more than five minutes, while Algeria slowly fought back to come within a goal courtesy of a goal by line player Damir Mohamed Riad in the 19th minute (7-6). Hammad Meroune equalised with a fast break in the 22nd minute (7-7), and from there on it was a one-for-one race to the break. Though Algeria had a one-goal lead at half-time, it did not take Qatar long to level the score and then claim the advantage with a fast break from left wing Amor Dhiab. But Algeria answered and the score line progressed evenly from there. Abdelrhem saved an Algeria fast break attempt in the 17th minute to keep the score at 17-17 before Qatar really kicked into gear. A precise shot into the top right corner from left back Moustafa Heiba, who played an outstanding game, scoring five goals for his side, took Qatar to a four-goal lead with just over six minutes left (23-19). Algeria continued to push and closed the score line to two, switching to man-on-man defence in the 58th minute (23:21). But Heiba scored from the six-metre line inside the last minute before Abdelrhem saved Algeria’s next shot, and the game was decided. “This was a very difficult match because Algeria’s mentality is always difficult for us – they always fight, they never give up,” said Qatar coach Julian Gomez after the game.Earlier in the day, Denmark added a third set of two points to their tally with a 37-27 win over Croatia.Danish goalkeeper Simon Gade caused a lot of early grief to Croatia, who scored their first goal only in the 11th minute, even as Denmark had netted five.In the 13th minute, Petar Medic received a direct red card – a real blow to Croatia, for whom Medic is a key player in attack particularly.Croatia switched to 5-1 formation closer to the break but Denmark’s early lead was too much overhaul and Scandinavians took a 15-9 lead into half-time.Denmark hit a 10-goal lead in the 40th minute, and with that the victory was decided. The Scandinavian team finished with a decisive win, giving them six points on the table and guaranteeing their spot in the Eighth-Finals in the process. Croatia have posted no wins so far, and face a must-win situation in the coming two group stage games.In the third and final match for Group C, Switzerland were the first to unsettle the hosts, leaving the court with their second victory. Despite a crowd of Russia supporters at Divs, Russia took a while to switch their engines on. Switzerland on the other hand, were ready to play from the first whistle, scoring five goals before Russia right back Ruslan Dashko added their first in the sixth minute (5-1). Russia managed to close Switzerland’s five-goal lead to two, but missed a chance to equalise in the last seconds of the half and the Swiss took a one-goal lead into the break.Switzerland created a five-goal advantage at 24-19 with 15 minutes to go.With the support of the home crowd Russia fought to the end, but only managed to close the gap to three goals at 29-26. (IHF.info)