Hungary win first leg play-off against Slovenia

Hungary have pulled off a hard-earned 25:22 win against Slovenia in one of the 2015 World Championship play-offs most hotly anticipated matches. The first leg match took place on Sunday in Veszprem Arena, home of VELUX EHF FINAL4 participants MKB-MVM Veszprem, a location that undoubtedly helped the Hungarians dominate.

The luck of the draw saw these two quality teams matched yet again in a World Championship play-off series. The two teams met in these same play-off matches in 2010, with Hungary winning by just one goal after both matches.

With so much at stake, the match was guaranteed to be an exciting one – and the home crowd certainly got what they came to see.

Hungary wasted no time once the start whistle blew, immediately taking the lead and slowing the faster-style play of their counterparts.

For most of the first half it appeared as though Hungary were well on their way to sealing their first play-off victory, with the home side recording far higher shooting and attack efficiency statistics for this period.

It was around the 20-minute mark that Slovenia began to really fight back, picking up their own statistics drastically and forcing Hungary to slow theirs down. The visitors levelled the score at 12:12 by the 25th minute.

At half-time, Hungary held a one-goal lead (16:15), promising a second 30 minutes sure to be as sensational as the first.

The second half began much the same as the first, with Hungary scoring several goals in the first few minutes. By the 45th minute, it was clear the visitors had a real fight on their hands, as Hungary had slowly increased their lead to four (23:19).

Slovenia desperately held on, disallowing their opponents from increasing the score line further, but from that point on, the match belonged to the home side.

The final score was 25:22 in favour of Hungary, who will travel to Velenje for next Sunday’s second leg play-off match against Slovenia, where this position for Qatar 2015 will be decided.