18.06.2017, 06:34
Turkey to face defending champions in final

REVIEW: Turkey and the Faroe Islands defeat Cyprus and Kosovo in the semi-finals of the IHF Men’s Emerging Nations Championship and secure themselves a ticket to the EHF EURO 2020 Qualification

Turkey to face defending champions in final

Defending champions Faroe Islands are one step closer to reclaiming the trophy won in 2015 at the maiden IHF Men’s Emerging Nations Championship in Bulgaria after defeating Kosovo in the semi-final on Saturday evening.

The Faroe Islands will meet Turkey in the final, after Turkey defeated Cyprus 35:32 in a tough match that saw them trailing 13:15 at the break.

By reaching the final both nations have secured a place in the EHF EURO 2020 Qualification. The third qualification ticket at stake in Bulgaria will be given to the eventual winners of Sunday's match for third place between Kosovo and Cyprus.

The final throws off at 21:00 hrs local time, live streaming is available for all matches on the Bulgarian Handball Federation's YouTube channel.

Faroe Islands won their match against Kosovo 33:30 following a 15:11 advantage at half-time, and were led by stand-out performances from Peter Krogh and Hans Eli Sigurbjornsson, who contributed nine and seven goals respectively.

“We played a very strong game. We stood very well tactically. We are happy with the victory,” Faroe Islands coach Ari Rukh told the official website of the Bulgarian Handball Federation.

In the second semi-final, Turkey’s usual sharpshooter Ramazan Done was kept relatively quiet with only four goals, though his teammate Gorkem Bicer stepped up to fill the gap with 11 goals. Bicer only just beat the tally of Cyprus’ top scorer, Julios Argyrou, who added 10 to his team’s effort.

Cyprus will therefore take on Kosovo in the match for third place, where Kosovo hope to win the bronze medal again after doing so in 2015, before Turkey and Faroe Islands contest the trophy match.

Saturday’s action at the tournament in Bulgaria also saw the continuation of the placement round 5-16, with China defeating Georgia 31:28 while the hosts beat Luxembourg 37:31 in the first of the 5-8 matches.

Azerbaijan beat Ireland 41:33 and Moldova recorded a narrow 35:34 win against Great Britain in the 9-12 placement games, and in the 13-16 matches Malta defeated Armenia 34:23 as Andorra won 32:23 versus Albania.

TEXT: Courtney Gahan / ts