10.10.2021, 09:20
France deny another Ukrainian surprise

ROUND 2 REVIEW: Olympic champions France struggled in Sumy, but in the end snatched two points against gritty Ukraine

After stunning Croatia in the opening round, Ukraine were close to one more shocking victory, yet the Olympic champions France did well in the closing minutes to claim their second straight win, 28:25.

GROUP 4

Ukraine vs France 25:28 (15:16)

• goals by Meline Nocandy and Alicia Toublanc powered France to a five-goal lead midway through the first half
• however, Ukraine weathered the storm to trail by just one goal at half-time, and Maryna Konovalova put them in front 17:16 shortly after the break
• the home side led 24:22 with seven minutes to go, yet the Olympic champions enjoyed a 6:1 run in the remaining time to grab a win
• Ukraine's Iryna Glibko was top scorer of the game with nine goals, while Meline Nocandy netted seven times for the visitors
• France top group 4 with the maximum of four points, while Ukraine remain on two points after as many games

Glibko leads the way for Ukraine

The Ukrainian team ultimately lost this time, but again left a solid impression. Just like against Croatia, the 32-year-old Iryna Glybko led the home side by example, as the left back from Ramnicu Valcea scored nine goals.

If she continues in the same way in the next games and gets enough support from her teammates, Ukraine will definitely have a chance to finish among the top two places and book their first EHF EURO ticket since 2014.

TEXT: EHF / Sergey Nikolaev