DENMARK – CROATIA 34:26
DENMARK: A. O. Kristensen 19/44, A. R. Reinhardt -/-, K. K. Nielsen 1/3, H. K. Hansen 1/2, S. Iversen 4/5, H. E. Hageso 4/4, A. M. Hansen 3/5, L. Haugsted 1/ 2, A. Aagot Hansen 5/8, K. Jorgensen 4/7, T. Jensen Ostegaard -/-, S. E. Jorgensen -/-, M. E. Hojlund -/-, E. C. U. Friis 4/4, R. Iversen -/-, M. E. Moller 7/8. HEAD COACH: Jesper Jensen
CROATIA: L. Bešen 8/33, I. Kapitanović 0/8, N. Kragulj 1/1, P. Posavec 1/1, T. Barišić 2/8, S. Šenvald -/-, S. Posavec 1/1 , D. Milosavljević 3/4, K. Ježić 4/5, K. Pavlović 6/9, M. Brkić -/-, J. Mamić 1/5, K. Vuković -/-, T. Petika 0/3, K. Birtić 5/6, K. Prkačin 2/8. HEAD COACH: Ivica Obrvan
The Croatian women’s national team was defeated by Denmark 26:34 in the first round of Group D of the 16th European Championship. Croatian handball players played a solid first half but a weak second half. They will be looking for an opportunity to advance to the second round through the Faroe Islands and one of the three hosts, Switzerland.
The draw wanted the Croatian senior women’s national team to open its first appearance at the 13th European Championship with Denmark, the toughest possible opponent. This national team has 17 medals from major competitions, seven of which are gold (three Olympic, three European, and one world). Croatia, on the other hand, can boast only one European bronze.
The host tried to animate the small number of Croatian fans with Baby Lasagna and his hit Rim Tim Tagi Dim. It was a beautiful gesture. Let’s mention that the match was watched by the president of the World Handball Federation, Hassan Moustafa, and the president of the European Handball Federation, Michael Wiederer.
Our initial line-up was as follows – at the door of Lucija Bešen. Paula Posavec and Nikolina Krgulj went to the wings. Captain Katarina Ježić was on the line, and Tina Barišić, Dejana Milosavljević, and Katarina Pavlović were on the outside.
Denmark was waiting for us in their classic 6-0 defense. And she was making one change in defense-attack. Specialist Line Haugsted acted in defense while Helena Elver Hageso entered the attack. We also did that, instead of Katarina Pavlović, Sara Šenvald entered defense.
After a solid start and 2:2, our handball players gifted three balls to the Danish women, and they turned it into a 2:5 lead, even though they didn’t even break a sweat. Damage. In addition, Anna Kristensen made six saves in the first 10 minutes, so our girls unexpectedly went into a big deficit early (3:7).
However, after Lucija Bešen’s first defense, one offense by the Danes in the attack, and our two goals in a row, we cut the deficit in half (6:8) and got back into the game. But not for much longer. In the 17th minute, Croatia was down four again (7:11), so our coach decided to call a minute of rest.
After that, Denmark changed its defense and played 5-1 with the forward Kaja Kamp Nielsen following Stella Posavec, who organized our game. This made it even more difficult for us to approach the opponent’s door. At one point, Denmark ran away with plus five (9:14) and stopped there. Katarina Pavlović entered and, with two missiles, returned everything to calmer waters. Two saves by our goalkeeper followed this, so it was easier to breathe four minutes before the break (11:14).
We could have paid dearly for two exclusions in the last four minutes, but our players showed the heart of a lion and did not allow the Danes to go to five differences again. Lucija Bešen took down the seven-pointer, and captain Katarina Ježić scored with the sound of the siren. Hence, it was pretty acceptable at halftime at 13:16. Croatia had 48, and Denmark had 66 percent of the realization in the first part. Even 12 defenses, or 48 percent, were collected by their goalkeeper, so minus three was an outstanding result. In addition to all that, Croatia had three expulsions, while Denmark had none.
In the continuation, Croatia started with one fewer player and prevented Denmark’s first attack but not the second one, although they had the opportunity to get to minus two. In addition to all that, she also missed a seven. That’s too many mistakes for experienced opponents not to take advantage of. And after just three minutes of play, they were up five (13:18).
We recorded the opponents’ first departure to a six-goal lead in the 35th minute (14:20). The coach decided to change the goalkeeper because he needed a new boost. Ivana Kapitanović came in. He didn’t get it because Denmark increased its lead to seven goals (17:24), so he tried to change something with a minute of rest and conversation.
Croatia did not score two consecutive goals once in the third quarter. Denmark did it four times and went to a huge nine points (18:27). Ivica Obrvan had to call a third-minute rest. He returned Lucia Bešen to the door.
Since the winner was already known, both selectors decided on numerous rotations. Unfortunately, Denmark also had better and better quality solutions. It was, therefore, only a question of how much difference there would be in the end. It finished with a minus eight (26:24). The great Anne Opstrup Kristensen made 19 saves and was the player of the match. Michala Elsberg Moller was the first scorer of the winning team with seven goals. With Croatia, nine saves by Lucija Bešen, six goals by Katarina Pavlović, and five by Klara Birtić.
In the second meeting of our group, Switzerland beat the Faroe Islands at 28:25, which was more difficult than expected. At one point, the local handball players had a 10-goal lead, but they saved the victory in the last two minutes when they made the series 3:1. Thus, they sent a message to our national team that they must be extremely careful against Faranki.
On Sunday, December 1, at 3:30 p.m., Croatia will play against the Faroe Islands in two days.
SOURCE: Croatian Handball Federation
