Croatia won the gold medal at the Easter Tournament for the U15 teams, held in the Croatian city of Varazdin. Besides the hosts, three teams participated. Montenegro, the host of this year’s European U15 Championships, finished in 2nd, Serbia in 3rd and Italy in 4th place.
Croatia beat Montenegro 11:7 in the final. Serbia defeated Italy by five goals in the third-place game (11:6).
Easter tournament, Varazdin
Group stage
Montenegro – Serbia 6:5 (2:1, 2:1, 2:2, 0:1)
Italy – Croatia 8:10 (2:2, 1:3, 2:3, 3:2)
Serbia – Italy 12:3 (3:0, 3:0, 5;1, 1:2)
Croatia – Montenegro 12:8 (6:2, 0:0, 2:4, 1:2)
Croatia – Serbia 8:8 (3:3, 4:3, 0:0, 1:2)
Montenegro – Italy 10:10 (1:1, 3:3, 4:2, 2:4)
Croatia was the only unbeaten team in the group, Serbia and Montenegro won four points each, while Italy finished the group stage with two losses and a draw.
Standings: 1.Croatia 7, 2. Serbia 4, 3. Montenegro 4, 4. Italy 1.
Semifinals
Montenegro – Serbia 11:10 (2:3, 5:2, 2:3, 2:2)
Croatia – Italy 12:6 (2:2, 3:1, 5:1, 2:2)
The first semifinal duel between Montenegro and Serbia was open until the end. The Serbs led 2:0, 3:2, and 5:4. But Montenegro scored four consecutive goals and took an 8:5 lead. The Serbs equalized (8:8). Montenegro responded in the same manner – with three goals in a row and restored a 3-goal lead (11:8). The Serbs came close in the 30th minute (10:11), but they couldn’t equalize and Montenegro went to the final.
Croatia outplayed Italy in the middle two quarters and recorded a 12:6 victory.
Bronze medal match
Italy – Serbia 6:11 (2:1, 2:1, 1:6, 1:3)
Italy led 4:2 at halftime. The Serbs netted two action goals in the first minute of the third period and quickly leveled at 4:4. Shortly after, they added two goals to take a 6:4 lead. Italy halved the deficit (5:6), but the Serbs responded with a new 4:0 series. Midway through the fourth quarter, they earned a 10:5 advantage. Each side scored a goal apiece in the last three minutes and the Serbs maintained a 5-goal difference (11:6).
Final
Croatia – Montenegro 11:7 (0:3, 4:2, 4:0, 3:2)
Montenegro took a flying start in the final and earned a 4:0 lead at the beginning of the second period. But, the hosts started recovering from the shock. Croatia answered in the same way, scoring four goals and leveling at 4:4 in the 15th minute. Shortly before the middle break, Montenegro went ahead for the last time (4:5). In the second half, the match turned into a one-sided contest. The hosts kept Montenegro goalless for 14 minutes while they produced a 6:0 run for a 10:5 lead. At the end of the game, four goals separated the rivals (11:7)
Croatia’s goalkeeper Nikola Batos was voted the MVP of the tournament.
