Hungary win first Women’s 19 EHF EURO title on home court
Hungary are the Women’s 19 EHF EURO 2019 champions after a 27:20 victory over Netherlands on Sunday.
The highly-anticipated matchup quickly became a one-sided affair as the potent Dutch attack was shut down in the first half.
Women’s 19 EHF EURO Final
Netherlands vs Hungary 20:27 (7:14)
Having lost the final of this competition three times since 2002, it was up to Hungary’s class of 2019 to finally deliver the title.
In front of an expectant and packed home crowd at Audi Arena Györ, the home side wasted no time in asserting their authority on the game, but a real gulf in the scoreline only appeared once they went on a 5:1 run at the end of the first half.
Finding themselves seven goals down at the break, Netherlands needed to produce something special to give themselves a chance of turning things around.
Although they kept creating chances and forcing turnovers, they simply could not find a way past Hungarian goalkeeper Lili Herczog, who was largely responsible for Hungary’s 49 per cent save rate.
All the while, Hungary continued to score from everywhere on the court, as they have done all tournament, with 10 players getting on the scoresheet en route to a 27:20 victory and Hungary’s very first Women’s 19 EHF EURO gold.
Final ranking
Earlier in the evening, the bronze medal match saw Norway enjoy a blistering start, helping them towards a 19:13 half-time lead, before beating Russia 29:26.
Gold – Hungary
Silver – Netherlands
Bronze – Norway
4th – Russia
5th – Romania
6th – Denmark
7th – Spain
8th – France
9th – Germany
10th – Croatia
11th – Austria
12th – Montenegro
13th – Sweden
14th – Portugal
15th - Slovenia
16th - Slovakia
All-star team
The tournament’s all-star team was announced during the winners’ ceremony as 10 of the event’s most outstanding players received an individual award as well as a Respect Your Talent T-shirt, which is part of the newly-launched programme by the EHF.
Goalkeeper - Anna Vereshchak (RUS)
Left wing - Zoe Sprengers (NED)
Left back - Greta Kacsor (HUN)
Centre back - Larissa Nüsser (NED)
Line player - Ane Cecilie Hogset (NOR)
Right back – Valeriia Maslova (RUS)
Right wing - Andra Liviana Moroianu (ROU)
Best defender - Csenge Kuczora (HUN)
Most Valuable Player - Elena Mikhaylichenko (RUS)
Top scorer with 55 goals - Joana Resende (POR)
TEXT:
Chris O'Reilly