Hungary suffered a second consecutive home loss in the preparations for the European Championships.
Italy defeated Hungary 15:14 (6:4, 4:5, 4:3, 1:2) in the Komjadi Pool in Budapest. Three days before, Croatia edged out Hungary in Szeged.
However, a result in a friendly match is never important, but improving the team’s shape is. The game in Budapest was Hungary’s third friendly since the start of the preparations, while Italy played its first official match after the World Championships in Singapore.
As in the game between Hungary and Croatia, the visitors opened the game excellently, setting the tone for the encounter. Italy scored five goals from its first five attacks and earned an early 5:1 lead. Hungary managed to catch up with the Italians already in the second quarter (6:6), but the “Settebello “didn’t let the hosts go ahead. In the third period, Hungary leveled the score twice (11:11 and 12:12). Italy scored the last two goals in this quarter and headed into the fourth period leading 14:12.
Midway through the fourth period, Hungary equalized the score once again – 14:14. However, immediately after, Edoardo Di Somma converted a man-up to give Italy a new lead (15:14). There were no goals in the remaining four minutes.
Edoardo Di Somma and Francesco Condemi scored three goals for Italy, which will play at the Europeans with a rejuvenated team. They were followed by Del Basso, Ferrero, and Dolce (two each), while Alesiani, Iocchi Gratta, and Balzarini scored one goal each.
Krisztian Manhercz, Hungary’s leading scorer against Croatia, missed the match. In his absence, Vince Vigvari spearheaded the hosts’ attack, scoring four goals. Other contributors included David Tatrai, Akos Nagy (each scored three goals), Daniel Angyal (two), and Matyas Meszaros and Vince Varga, who both scored one goal each.
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