Men’s 20 EHF Championship in Montenegro underway

The Verde Complex, a modern 2,100 capacity sports hall in Podgorica, Montenegro, has already seen three matchdays of action in the Men’s 20 EHF Championship, which finishes on Sunday 29 July.

All games will be live and free on ehfTV.com, alongside a wealth of statistics on the official website and a live ticker.

On the official website highlight videos for all matches are available.

Group A
All six teams in group A have now played two games each and the table is completely split down the middle. Austria, Netherlands and Czech Republic have all won both of their matches to sit joint top on four points each – and even the Austrians and Dutch have the same goal difference (+31), but, with a better strike total, the Austrians are in first place. Kosovo, Moldova and Bulgaria all sit bottom without any points after losing their two matches each.

The three losing teams have shown some impressive performances though as right back Roman Dodica scored 14 goals for Moldova in their 35:25 loss to Czech Republic and seven in the Austria 43:24 defeat, also on a hot streak is Kristian Vasilev for Bulgaria who struck 12 times against Netherlands, but it was not enough as his side lost 38:20. Vasilev scored double-figures for the Bulgarians against Austria too, scoring 10 times.

The Netherlands had to work hard against Kosovo, to win 34:21 after the Kosovans were just two behind the Dutch at the break.

Group B
Hosts Montenegro are in group B which features five teams meaning that one team has a rest day every day and not all teams have played twice yet, unlike group A.

For the teams which have played twice there are mixed fortunes though. The strong Latvians sit top of the group with four points from four having beating Slovakia 28:26 in a tough match which saw Latvia extremely disciplined in the game to not concede any 7m penalties, scoring two themselves – ultimately the difference in the game.

However, their discipline eluded them in their second win – against Georgia 33:23 – when they picked up two direct red cards with David Kolesar being sent from the court in the 41st minute and teammate Samuel Janoska receiving one with five minutes remaining. Daviti Koriauli scored 15 times for Georgia.

Hosts Montenegro lie in second place with one win from one as they also beat Georgia, 34:23, extending their two-goal half-time lead to win by 11 and send the host nation crowd happy. Left back Vasilje Kaludjerovic scored eight times for the Montenegrins.

In the other match in the group Latvia scored an incredible nine 7m penalties to beat Turkey 32:30 and Turkey will have to look at their defensive discipline if they are to give themselves a chance of winning in their next match. With Doruk Pehlivan scoring 11 goals in this match, they are certainly not short of firepower.

Battle in the scoring charts
The top three goal-scorers are yet to experience a victory yet with their teams. Daviti Koriauli leads the top-scoring charts for Georgia, tied with Bulgaria’s Kristian Vasilev on 22 goals each and Moldova’s Roman Dodica in third with 21 goals.

RESULTS – DAY 1-3

Friday 20 July

Group A
Czech Republic vs Moldova 35:25 (16:9)
Austria vs Bulgaria 36:24 (19:9)
Netherlands vs Kosovo 34:21 (13:11)

Group B
Slovakia vs Latvia 26:28 (13:16)
Montenegro vs Georgia 34:23 (17:15)

Saturday 21 July

Group B
Latvia vs Turkey 32:30 (18:14)
Georgia vs Slovakia 23:33 (8:16)

Sunday 22 July

Group A
Moldova vs Austria 24:43 (11:22)
Kosovo vs Czech Republic 15:22 (6:9)
Bulgaria vs Netherlands 20:38 (9:19)

Follow the Men’s 20 EHF Championship in Montenegro

Playing Schedule: http://eurohandball.com/ech/01-02/20/men/2018/round/1/Championship+-+MNE
ehfTV: https://www.ehftv.com/int/livestream-schedule/2018/july
Official website: http://www.ehfu20montenegro.me/

Photos: Zeljko Dragojevic