FYR Macedonia book ticket to Poland
In Group 6, FYR Macedonia overcame Czech Republic to clinch their berth at the final tournament in January.
A convincing victory over Turkey meant Croatia finished the EHF EURO 2016 Qualification Phase on top of the Group 1 table.
Norway also recorded a big win, against the Netherlands, to record their fifth win of the qualification phase.
Group 1: Croatia vs. Turkey 40:26 (21:13)
Though Croatia were already qualified ahead of Sunday’s match, they had the motivation of taking the top spot on the group table with a victory.
Croatia went into the game as favourites, and coach Zeljko Babic used the opportunity to give his younger players a run.
Line player Ilija Brozovic scored four from four goals in the first half as Croatia scorched ahead to lead by eight at half-time.
Croatia owned the second half just as much as the first, continuing to increase their lead to finish the match with a 14-goal advantage.
Lovro Mihic and Luka Stepancic were the highest scorers for the Balkan side, with six goals each. Volkan Caliskan and Ramazan Döne (five goals) were the top scorers for the guests.
Ramazan Döne was not quite as dominant on the score board as usual. The right back has consistently been Turkey’s biggest scorer throughout the qualification phase, earning him second spot on the top scorers ranking with 48 goals in six games.
Group 1: Norway vs. Netherlands 38:24 (19:11)
Group 1’s second match was as one-sided as the first. Norway dominated the game from start to finish, recording exactly the same half-time advantage (+8) as group rivals Croatia did against Turkey earlier in the evening.
Right wing Arjan Haenan put on a strong performance for the Netherlands, keeping his side somewhat in touch with seven goals in the match.
But his effort was not enough. Norway were comfortably ahead by eight at half-time, and only continued to increase their lead from there.
Norway’s highest scorer was right back Kent Robin Tönnesen, with an outstanding 11 goals from 11 shots.
Group 6: FYR Macedonia vs. Czech Republic 32:28 (15:12)
The first half of this high-stakes decider was exactly what was expected – a one-for-one battle that confirmed this meeting to be one of the most exciting to take place on Sunday evening.
With the vocal crowd on their side and shooting on point, FYR Macedonia were in control of the match despite what the level score line showed as the half progressed.
Both sides played calm, structured attack, though Czech Republic were noticeably once again missing their biggest shooter: Filip Jicha, who was out with injury.
A two-minute suspension to Ondrej Zdrahala in the 28th minute allowed FYR Macedonia to pull ahead slightly and take a three-goal lead into the break.
FYR Macedonia’s half-time lead proved crucial. The home side retained that same lead as the match continued, leading 24:21 with 15 minutes left.
The teams both showed more urgency in attack in the second half, but in the end FYR Macedonia held onto their lead to take the two points and the Group 6’s remaining ticket to Poland.
Photo: Filip Viranovski
TEXT:
Courtney Gahan / ts