Another "Magic Moment" for Austria

Group 5:

Austria – Iceland 28:23 (12:11)

The Austrians remain the biggest surprise in qualification for the Men’s EHF EURO 2012 in Serbia. After unluckily missing the victory in Germany but taking a draw now the EHF EURO host of 2010 sensationally beat Olympics silver medallist and EHF EURO bronze medallist Iceland 28:23. Celebrated by more than 2000 spectators the Austrian national team continued where it ended in Germany. And as the final whistle had been blown all players jumped on top of goalkeeper Nikola Marinovic.

The arena went crazy when coach Magnus Andersson had taken his time-out 90 seconds before the end – as it was obvious that the Austrian would gain a historic victory and now have best cards for going to the EHF EURO 2012 with three points ahead of Iceland (2). The first half was absolutely equal with advantages for the host thanks to their defence and Marinovic. After the break Austria extended the lead to 23:17 and Iceland only could count on the penalty goals of Olafur Stefansson, as their defence was surprisingly weak. But as Austria lacked some concentration Iceland reduced the distance to three goals again. When the guest had two players less on the field Fölser pre-decided the game with the 26:21 four minutes before the end.

Even an absolute offensive defence couldn’t stop the host in the final stage and at the end a last minute save of Marinovic brought two important points with a five goal difference. This can become decisive for the re-match in Iceland. After the sensational 37:37 against the same opponent during the EHF EURO, nine months later Austria have celebrated some “Magic Moments” again.

Group 6:

Netherlands – Czech Republic 25:33 (14:18)

After their clear victory in their opener against Greece the Czechs remain on the way to Serbia. Like on Wednesday they did not need all their powers to beat Netherlands, which remain with zero points after two rounds. Like against Greece, Filip Jicha was the Czech top scorer with eight goals. Bartek Konitz and Iso Slujters scored seven times for the “Oranjes”. After the 4:4 Czech Republic took the lead thanks to their physical strong defence and their greater efficiency in attack. As the Dutch were quite close at the break the guest then went away to 23:15. And even as the Netherlands could intermediately reduce the gap in the end it was a clear and well-deserved victory for the Czechs.