GROUP 2 REVIEW: Austria overrun by three-time EHF EURO champions, but still in the race for a EURO ticket
Despite the clear 22:38 defeat on home court against Denmark, Austria are still in the race for a ticket for the EHF EURO 2022. But they need to win at Romania on Sunday to make their dream come true. The Danes - already qualified after round 4 - took their fifth victory in five matches and will finish the group on top.
GROUP 2
Austria vs Denmark 22:38 (11:21)
- after winning the first leg on Danish soil 27:22, Denmark took an even bigger victory in the away match
- Austria only kept parity until the score of 5:6, then the Danes comfortably pulled ahead to their first double-digit advantage at 18:8, allowing Austria only three goals in 16 minutes
- the match had already been decided by the 21:11 half-time gap - as Austria already started to save energy for their crucial “final” against Romania
- finally, 12 Danish players were on the scorer list, topped by Kristina Jörgensen, who netted seven times
- coincidentally, Austria’s top scorer was Sonja Frey, whose been playing for Danish clubs (Esbjerg and Ikast) since 2019, with six goals
Everything set for a group final
Below group winners Denmark, Austria and Romania are level on five points before their direct duel in the final match on Sunday at Valcea. What makes the match so special, is that Austria’s coach Herbert Müller was born in Romania and has even coached Romanian club Presov. As Romania has the much better goal difference compared to Austria, a draw will be enough for Sunday’s hosts, while Austria need to win to book their first EHF EURO ticket since 2008.
TEXT:
EHF / Björn Pazen