The teams that participated in Division 2 at the European Men’s U17 Championships in Manisa failed to win in the crossover round. Consequently, the quarterfinals will feature the eight teams from Division 1. Montenegro, the Netherlands, Italy and Croatia advanced to the top 8 with today’s victories.
An encounter between the Netherlands and Germany was the most thrilling game of the day. The Dutch dropped a 3-goal lead at the finish of the game. The Germans leveled the score at 12:12. Still, the Netherlands emerged as a winner after a penalty shootout (17:16).
Montenegro beat France 16:8, securing a convincing win only in the final minutes.
Italy defeated Malta by three goals – 10:7. Malta fought hard against Italy, but the “Settebello” didn’t let a surprise happen.
The excellent defensive play in the middle of the game was the key to Croatia’s 12:6 victory over Turkey.
Quarterfinals (August 12): Greece – Croatia, Hungary – Netherlands, Spain – Italy, Serbia – Montenegro
Semifinals (August 13): Greece/Croatia – Spain/Italy, Hungary/Netherlands – Serbia/Montenegro.
2023 European U17 Men’s Championships, Day 4
Crossover round
Montenegro – France 16:8 (3:2, 3:3, 3:2, 7:1)
Montenegro convincingly defeated France in the match that opened the crossover round. However, the final score doesn’t mirror what happened in the water. France was in the game for over three quarters, despite never taking the lead.
Montenegro scored the first two goals in the game and had a 3:1 advantage. France leveled the score at 3;3, 5:5 and 6:6. After the French’s sixth goal, Montenegro netted three in a row in less than two minutes and went to 9:6. Five minutes before the end, Montenegro built a four-goal lead for the first time (11:7). Immediately after, the best scorer of the game Jakub Novacek converted a penalty for 8:11 (it was his 6th goal today) and revived France’s hopes. But, Montenegro secured a big win with a stunning 5:0 series in the last three and a half minutes.
Montenegro’s captain Strahinja Gojkovic contributed to the victory with four goals.
Netherlands – Germany 17:16 (4:5, 4:1, 3:2, 1:4, PSO 5:4)
Germany and the Netherlands had ups and downs in the second crossover game. The Germans started excellently and earned a 4:1 lead in the first five minutes. But, the Dutch narrowed the gap to one before the first break (4:5), opened the second quarter with three straight goals, going to 7:5. The Netherlands controlled the match almost until the end. A minute and a half before the final buzzer, they had a solid 12:9 advantage. Still, Germany produced a quick comeback with three goals in 71 seconds. Arne Birk Hofmann made it 12:12 with seven seconds to go and prolonged the match in a shootout.
However, the Germans didn’t reach the quarters because the Dutch made no mistake in the series of penalty shots. One of the German players hit the post, which turned out to be a decisive moment.
Two Dutch players netted four goals – Rick Terlouw and Imme van der Schaff. Arne Birk Hofmann scored five for Germany, and Finn Taubert added four.
Italy – Malta 10:7 (2:2, 3:2, 3:1, 2:2)
Despite being the favorites, Italy faced a tough challenge from the Maltese team, which managed to level the score twice at 2:2 and 3:3. Malta showed great determination. In the third quarter, the Maltese only trailed by one goal(5:6). However, Italy scored two goals in the last 93 seconds of this period, earning a three-goal advantage for the first time (9:6), which they maintained until the end.
Italy’s Diego Tresa and Malta’s left-handed captain Jayden Cutajar both scored three goals.
Croatia – Turkey 12:6 (4:3, 2:0, 2:2, 4:1)
The highly motivated Turks kept up with Croatia in the opening minutes. The Turks leveled once (2:2) and were just a step behind at the first break (3:4). The Croats silenced the home team’s supporters in the middle two quarters. They kept Turkey goalless between the 8th and 21st minute. Croatia netted three in a row in that interval and built a fine 7:3 lead. There was no way back for the hosts. Croatia dictated the pace and widened the gap to six.
Croatia’s attack was again led by captain Gabriel Burburan who found the net four times.
13th – 16th place classification, semifinals
Georgia – Poland 11:10 (1:1, 3:1, 4:2, 3:6)
Ukraine – Romania 6:8 (0:2, 3:2, 2:4, 1:0)
Georgia and Romania qualified for the 13th-place match.
Georgia narrowly defeated Poland, even though it had a big 11:6 advantage with 02:20 left on the clock. Poland scored four goals in the remaining time, but it couldn’t equalize. Romania defeated Ukraine 8:6. The Romanians’ 4:0 run in the third period, which moved them from 4:4 to 8:4, was decisive.
Day 5
15th-place match: Poland – Turkey (09:00)
13th-place match: Georgia – Romania (10:30)
9th-12th place semifinals: Turkey – Malta (12:00), Germany – France (13:30)
Quarterfinals: Greece – Croatia (16:30), Hungary – Netherlands (18:00), Spain ‘ Italy (19:30), Serbia – Montenegro (21:00).
All times are local.
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