DAY 1 & 2 REVIEW: Macedonians and Swiss hold a perfect record after two matches, while hosts Georgia remain unbeaten at the Men’s 18 EHF Championship
Swiss shine early on in Georgia
After just two days of matches at the Men’s 18 EHF Championship in Georgia, Switzerland have emerged as top contenders for the title, following two massive wins.
A 33:22 victory over Estonia, backed up by a 39:18 win against Lithuania, have seen the Swiss shoot to the top of Group A on goal difference.
Kadetten Schaffhausen prospect Samuel Zehnder has been brilliant in front of goal, with 19 goals, and he can look forward to a shootout with a fellow goal-machine Nenad Kosteski on 14 August.
Kosteski has found the back of the net 20 times in two matches for FYR Macedonia as they won tough encounters against Lithuania (32:20) and Luxembourg (31:25).
In Group B, Georgia hold a narrow lead at the top, one point ahead of Italy and Belarus, though Italy have a game in hand.
It was a shaky start for the hosts in Tbilisi as they were held to a 25:25 draw by Finland.
Saturday’s match against Belarus went much better, thanks almost single-handedly to an incredible performance from Giorgi Tskhovrebadze, who fired in 20 goals in the 32:24 win.
Italy also look in good shape after their 27:20 win over Greece and their dates with Finland on Monday and Georgia on Tuesday should go a long way towards deciding which two teams will qualify for the semi-finals.
Follow the Men’s 18 EHF Championship in Georgia
Official website: http://www.2018tbilisi.com/
Playing schedule: http://www.eurohandball.com/ech/01-02/18/men/2018/round/1/Championship+-+GEO
ehfTV: https://www.ehftv.com/int/league/men-s-18-ehf-championship-2018-georgia/795
TEXT:
Chris O'Reilly