Men’s Handball Team Loses to Austria by a Single Point

The Hungarian men’s handball team lost 30-29 to Austria in the first round of the semi-finals of the European Olympic qualifying tournament in Cologne, Germany on Thursday.

The Hungarian team, who progressed from the group stage with a 100% record, will face Croatia on Saturday at 6 p.m., host Germany on Monday at 8:30 p.m. and defending Olympic champions France next Wednesday at 6 p.m.

The top two finishers in each group will advance to the semi-finals, while the third-placed teams will play for fifth place.

Richárd Bodó scored three goals and Miklós Rosta scored from midfield into the empty net, but the Hungarian defense was not as effective as before, so the score was level at the break. The Austrians attacked with their substitute goalkeeper and the Hungarian team tried to take advantage of the situations, but made several mistakes. Dominik Máthé started the second half with two goals, but the opponents took the lead in the 43rd minute (22-23), for the first time in the match. In the end, the Hungarian team lost a winnable match against Austria, who also made a lot of mistakes.

Head coach Chema Rodríguez said that the Hungarian men’s handball team’s aim is to reach the semi-finals of the European Championship in Germany despite Thursday’s defeat. He added that they knew they were in for a tough game, as the Austrians are here because they eliminated Spain in the group stage. “In the first half we had problems with overpowering, but we attacked well. In the second half our defense improved a bit, but we had problems in attack,” he explained.

Team captain Máté Lékai told MTI that he did not think they made any more mistakes than in their previous games. The main problem and the key of the match is that they could not stop the opponent’s superior offensive play in defense, although they practiced it in training.

We had our chances but unfortunately they were missed,”

he noted.

The winner of the European Championship – or the best team not yet qualified – will qualify for the summer Olympics in Paris. The next two best teams, which have not yet qualified, will be able to take part in the qualification tournament in March, where the Hungarian team has already secured its place.

Via MTI; Featured image via MTI/Czeglédi Zsolt