FYR Macedonia win home tournament by beating Belarus clearly

The final day of the Men’s 20 EHF Championship in Skopje, FYR Macedonia, saw the home side easily beat rivals Belarus 29:23, while Switzerland played a near-perfect second half to take the final podium spot with victory over the Faroe Islands.

Men’s 20 EHF Championship: FYR Macedonia
Matchday 7: Finals, 5-11 Placement Round
Boris Trajkovski Arena, Skopje

Final/Gold: FYR Macedonia vs Belarus 29:23 (15:10)
The hosts ended the last match of the championship in the best possible way as they were in complete control for the whole game, two goals ahead (5:3) in the 13th minute and then five (11:6) 10 minutes after that. Goalkeeper Matej Petkovski won the best player award.

"I can’t find word to express how proud of the boys I am," said coach Macedonian coach Danilo Brestovac. "We played our best match in the tournament and everything well - I am very happy that we managed to win."

3/4 Placement Match/Bronze: Faroe Islands vs Switzerland 17:32 (7:16)
The Swiss completely dominated the Faroes to take the bronze medal as their nine-goal half-time lead was never clawed back and they went on to win by 15. Kayoum Eicher took the best player award for his goalkeeping performance, while his teammate Manuel Zehnder scored nine goals in an equally-impressive display.

"Today we played a good match," said Swiss coach Marcel Tobler. "A medal is a medal. We could do more but this is sport. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose."

Placement Match 5/6: Ukraine vs Lithuania 29:28 (11:11)
One of the tightest matches in the tournament saw both Ukraine and Lithuania fight desperately for a fifth-place finish, but in the end Ukraine came through just about, but they had to take time-out with less than a minute remaining to ensure their victory.

Placement Match 7/8: Estonia vs Italy 25:19 (10:11)
Estonian goalkeeper Armis Priskus picked up the best player award as his side came from a one-goal half-time deficit to win by six goals (25:19) in an impressive second half performance which saw them finish seventh.

Placement Match 9/10: Finland vs Greece 23:26 (15:10)
Greece ensured they finished inside the top ten with a three-goal victory over the Finns in the opening match of the day as Panagiotis Karampourniotis and best player of the match Nikolaos Koykmisis picked up six goals each.

Target man
Lithuanian Karolis Antanavicius finished top of the scoring charts with 53 goals, while teammate Devidas Jovaisas was behind on 44. Nicolo D’Antino for Italy finished third, one goal behind on 43 goals.

All Star Team
Goalkeeper: Hordyr Trygvasson (FAR)
Left wing: Deividas Jovaisas (LTU)
Left back: Mario Tankoski (MKD)
Centre back: Yulyan Hiryk (BLR)
Right back: Mikalai Aliokhin (BLR)
Right wing: Nicolo D’Antino (ITA)
Line player: Ivan Burzak (UKR)
Best defense player: Philip Novak (SUI)
MVP: Artur Rudz (BLR)
Top Scorer: Karolis Antanavicius (LTU) – 53 goals

Men’s 20 EHF Championship – FYR Macedonia: Results – Matchday 7

Sunday 29 July

Results

Final/Gold: FYR Macedonia vs Belarus 29:23 (15:10)
3/4 Placement Match/Bronze: Faroe Islands vs Switzerland 17:32 (7:16)
Placement Match 5/6: Ukraine vs Lithuania 29:28 (11:11)
Placement Match 7/8: Estonia vs Italy 25:19 (10:11)
Placement Match 9/10: Finland vs Greece 23:26 (15:10)

Final Ranking

1. FYR Macedonia
2. Belarus
3. Switzerland
4. Faroe Islands
5. Ukraine
6. Lithuania
7. Estonia
8. Italy
9. Greece
10. Finland
11. Great Britain

Relive the Men’s 20 EHF Championship in FYR Macedonia
Statistics: http://eurohandball.com/ech/01-01/20/men/2018/round/1/Championship+-+MKD
Official website: https://m20championship2018.mk/
Official Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/m20EHFChampionship2018/
ehfTV: https://www.ehftv.com/int/livestream-schedule/2018/july