Hungary, Russia and Norway win group finals with ease

Sunday’s three de facto group finals ended in comfortable victories for Hungary, Russia and Norway, while the Netherlands also maintained their perfect record on the final day of preliminary round action at the Women’s 19 EHF EURO.

Germany, under 17 champions from two years ago, suffered defeat to Denmark, their second of the tournament, which means they miss out on the main round, which begins on Tuesday.

Group and match details can be found HERE. All matches will be streamed on ehfTV.com.

Group A

This group decider was always going to be a case of how long France could keep up with the free-flowing Russian attack.

It remained a fairly close affair until early in the second half, when Russia began to take control. With a combined 17 goals from back court duo Elena Mikhaylichenko and Valeriia Maslova as well as a player of the match performance from goalkeeper Anna Vereshchak, Russia were well-worth their 30:24 victory.

Slovakia beat Slovenia 26:24 in the other match to take two points with them into the intermediate round.

Group B

A hard-fought battle was expected as Denmark and Germany faced-off for a place in the main round. However, the result was a foregone conclusion by half-time as an exceptional Louise Bak Jensen in goal inspired Denmark to a 7:1 run at the end of the first half and they led 17:7.

The second half was more balanced and Denmark claimed a 33:25 win, their second in the group.

Netherlands made it three wins from three with a comfortable 30:23 victory over Croatia, who are still in search of their first success of the championship.

Group C

2,500 fans cheered on the hosts as they wrapped up the preliminary round with a perfect six points. Gréta Kácsor led the scoring for Hungary with seven goals as they beat Spain 33:23.

That result meant Montenegro knew the margin of victory they needed against Austria to book a spot in the main round.

However, the Austrians produced their best performance to date and scored an impressive 23:18 win, their first of the week, which sent Spain through to the main round alongside Hungary.

Group D

Norway and Romania offered the closest group final of the day as the Scandinavian side could only shake off their opponents in the final 10 minutes.

Andreea Popa’s nine goals kept Romania in touch for most of the afternoon, but it was Norway who held strong for a 30:25 win, taking two points with them to the main round.

The group’s final match was a nervy encounter in the first half as Sweden and Portugal shared just 16 goals. Portugal eventually stepped up a gear or two and with eight goals each from Joana Resende and Beatriz Sousa, they earned a 24:19 victory.

Follow the Women’s 19 EHF EURO

All games of the Women’s 19 EHF EURO will be live on ehfTV.com.

For all the match throw-off times click HERE.

For the official competition website click HERE.