Italy outplays Greece; Spain beats Montenegro in great game

Croatia and Italy remain unbeaten after two days of play in Division 1 of the 36th Men’s European Championships.
Both teams recorded convincing wins today.

Italy completely outplayed Greece in the derby in Group B in Zagreb – 15:8. Hungary earned the first three points in this group with a 15:11 victory over Georgia.

Croatia beat France by five goals (12:7) in Dubrovnik. Before that game, Spain defeated Montenegro in the most exciting match of the day – 14:12

2024 European Men’s Championships (January 4 – 16), Day 3

Group A (Dubrovnik)

Montenegro – Spain 12:14 (2:4, 4:4, 3:2, 3:4)

Montenegro: Mrsic 3, Vidovic 3, Ukropina 3, Dj.Radovic 1, Vujovic 1, V.Radovic 1.
Spain: Granados 5, Perrone 3, Tahull 2, Aguirre 1, Munarriz 1, Sanahuja 1, Bustos 1.

Spain and Montenegro played an excellent match. Spain led for most of the time and held back all the rival’s comeback attempts.

The Montenegrins courageously entered the match but missed good chances in the opening minutes. The Spaniards capitalized on Montenegro’s mistakes and took a 2:0 lead with two goals from Alvaro Granados. Montenegro leveled at 2:2, but Spain closed the first period with two goals in the last 62 seconds. First, Perrone converted a double man-up. Montenegro had a 6 on 4 in the following possession, but it lost the ball, and Spain’s goalkeeper Aguirre surprised Montenegro’s goalie Tesanovic and sent the ball into the net from its own goal.

Early in the second quarter, Granados added his third goal for 5:2. But, Montenegro was able to comeback. The Balkans narrowed the gap to one (4:5, 5:6 and 6:7). Still, it couldn’t equalize. Munarriz doubled the Spaniards’ advantage with a power-play goal 17 seconds before the middle break.

Spain started the third period in the same way as it finished the second – with a goal from a 6 on 5. Perrone was the scorer for 9:6 this time. However, the Spaniards didn’t break Montenegro’s spirit. At the finish of the quarter, Vasilije Radovic scored after a nice assist from Ukropina and one goal separated the rivals (9:10) before the final period.

At the start of the fourth quarter, Montenegro finally leveled. Marko Mrsic made it 10:10. However, Montenegro’s joy didn’t last for long, as Granados netted two goals within 37 seconds – one from 6 on 6 and the other from a counter-attack and Spain went to 12:10 with three minutes left on the clock. Jovan Vujovic narrowed the margin to 11:12, but in the next attack, Tahull scored, extending Spain’s lead to 13:11. Sanahuja ended a drama, scoring for 14:11 in the 31st minute.

Croatia – France 12:7 (3:1, 3:1, 4:3, 2:2)

Croatia: Buric 3, Loncar 2, Vukicevic 2, Zuvela 2, Marinic Kragic 1, Vrlic 1, Kharkov 1.
France:Vernoux 3, Marzouki 2, Bodegas 1, Bouet 1,

An excellent defense was key to Croatia’s victory in the second round. Towards the end of the first quarter,the hosts found their rhythm in the attack.

Zuvela gave Croatia an early lead with a goal in the 3rd minute. In the subsequent minutes, both teams showcased strong defensive performances. The French managed to equalize in the 5th minute through Bodegas. Croatia faced challenges in their offensive efforts, missing six man-up opportunities in the first quarter. However, the hosts turned the tide with two goals in the last 75 seconds of the quarter, with Loncar scoring from a counterattack and Buric finding the net, bringing the score to 3:1.

Midway through the second period, Croatia further widened their lead to four goals (5:1). Vernoux finally ended France’s nine-minute goal drought, making it 2:5. Nevertheless, Loncar responded with another counterattack goal, and Croatia entered halftime with a comfortable 6:2 lead. Shortly after the middle break, Croatia extended its lead to 8:2, leaving the French needing a miracle for a comeback. In the last quarter and a half, the teams traded the goals. There were no miracles.

Standings: 1. Croatia 5, 2. Spain 4, 3. Montenegro 2, 4. France 1.

European Championships schedule and scores

Group B (Zagreb)

Greece – Italy 8:15 (2:4, 2:3, 2:5, 2:3)

Greece: Vlachopoulos 3, Gkiouvetsis 2, kakaris 2, Genidounias 1.
Italy: Di Somma 5, Echenique 3, Fondelli 2, Di Fulvio 2, Marziali 1, Bruni 1, Dolce 1.

Greece played without one of the pillars, Alexandros Papanastasiou, who was red-carded in the match against Hungary. However, his absence can’t be an excuse for the poor performance displayed by the winners of the silver medals at the 2023 World Championships. Greece made too many mistakes. There were a lot of wrong passes and wasted man-up chances.

Italy played very well and already had a four-goal lead in the 15th minute. Edoardo Di Somma, who was outstanding in the first half, found the net for the fifth time for 7:3. Kakaris scored the last goal in the first half, and the Greeks were still in the game.

But, after the middle break, the Italians continued dominating. In the 19th minute, Edoardo Di Somma added the sixth goal to his tally. However, the referees canceled the goal. After a VAR review, they noticed that Di Somma made a foul for a red card in an action that preceded his sixth goal. He was excluded until the end of the match (the exclusion with substitution), therefore the goal was disallowed. Still, the Italians continued in the same rhythm. They killed a man-up that Greece earned after Di Somma’s exclusion. Immediately after, Echenique made it 8:4 from a 6 on 5. By the end of the third period, Italy extended their lead to six. The fourth period was just formality.

Georgia – Hungary 11:15 (2:5 3:4, 6:4, 0:2)

Georgia: Akhvlediani 3, Magrakvelidze 2, Vasic 2, Dadvani 1, Bitadze 1, Imnaishvili 1, Pjesivac 1.
Hungary: Nagy 4, Vin.Vigvari 3, Tatrai 3, Burian 2, Fekete 1, V.Varga 1, Vismeg 1

Georgia couldn’t surprise the young team of Hungary, which proved its potential two days against Greece. Today, the Hungarians earned a well-deserved but not an easy win; Georgia didn’t endanger Hungary’s lead but fought hard.

 

Georgia scored an opening goal. Vasic converted a penalty in the first minute. However, Hungary produced a 4:0 run to earn a 4:1 lead in the 6th minute. That run put the Hungarians on the right track. In the rest of the game, the difference was never smaller than two goals. Late into the second quarter, the Hungarians were five steps ahead (9:4) and maintained the difference until the middle of the third quarter (12:7), but Georgia didn’t give in. It scored three goals in a row and reduced the gap to two (10:12).

The Georgians’ hope was still alive before the final quarter as they trailed 11:13. But, they couldn’t find the net in the fourth period. The Hungarians were very disciplined in defense. At the other end of the pool, they netted two goals for a solid 15:11 win.

Standings: 1. Italy 6, 2. Greece 3, 3. Hungary 3, 4. Georgia 0.

European Championships schedule and scores

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